Zootopia Fanfictions
by Thebestbunny75
Summary: Follow the lives of the sneaky fox, Nick Wilde, & Zootopia's first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps! Friendship, drama, & hurt/comfort are all included in this Zootopia bundle! Recent story: During an undercover case, Nick starts acting strange & when Judy finds out what he's been hiding, they must overcome prejudice that challenges their differences if things are to return to normal.
1. Coffee?

**"Coffee?" Zootopia Fanfiction #1**

He came to the doors of the Zootopian Police Department and opened them. During the day the ZPD would be bustling with energy and packed with the usual variety of police officers—rhinos, elephants, and hippos. He casually sauntered into the lobby with a slight smile on his face. Stopping about halfway, he propped himself up on the front desk, with one arm under his head, and looked up at Benjamin Clawhauser, the cheetah.

"Good morning," said Clawhauser holding a cheery smile. Nick smiled back.

"You too." Nick said in an inattentive tone as he stared at something behind Clawhauser. Clawhauser eagerly shifted in his seat to get a glimpse of what Nick was looking at.

Before them, a fraction of Nick's size, was Judy Hopps. She had recently strolled out of her office to go over to the slightly hidden coffee station that was a few feet behind the front desk. Of course the station was originally for bigger animals so it was understandable that Judy struggled on her tip toes to reach for a cup. Nick had noticed this instantly when Clawhauser began talking. Judy continued to struggle until she turned her head and saw them both staring at her. She instantly stopped and gave them a sheepish smile.

"How are you guys this morning?" She gave a nervous laugh.

"Great! Do you need some help?" Clawhauser asked.

"No, but thanks." She said stubbornly as she turned back to reach for a cup again.

"Are you sure?" Nick said while leaning forward.

"Yep."

Clawhauser shrugged and turned back around toward the front of the lobby. Nick walked around to where Judy was and towered over her, watching her fail at every attempt to get a cup. He leaned in closer to her.

"Are you still sure?" He chortled.

She pushed his nose out of her face and huffed. "You know what? I don't even want coffee anymore," she sulked as she crossed her arms and stomped away into her office. Nick rolled his eyes and followed her.

"Aww, come on. I'll get you some if you just ask." He leaned on the door frame with a smirk plastered on his face.

She sat there with her paws on her hips and sighed. "No. I'm fine, Nick."

"Sheesh, fine."

She returned to her desk and pulled out a small notebook along with a carrot-shaped pen. Nick fully entered the room, closed the door behind him, and sat down on the couch that was on the opposite side of the room of Judy's desk. He stretched out his legs and comfortably put his arms behind his head while Judy jotted down some notes from the paper in front of her.

"Sooo," Nick started, "Who are our suspects?"

"We've got the shrew, opossum, and raccoon. The opossum knew about what would happened before the crime was reported and the raccoon and shrew were both hiding from the police when we got there." She said while rustling some papers.

"Is there any connection between the opossum's family and the crime? How about the others? Do they know about it?"

"We don't know yet. They're being interrogated right as we speak. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." She assured him while putting away all of the supplies on her desk. Judy yawned, leaned back in her chair and stared at Nick, who was holding a sleepy gaze right back at her.

Nick suddenly got up from the couch and sat in his rolly-chair and rolled towards Judy's desk. Judy watched him as he casually propped his head up on one arm and winked at her. She quickly looked at the ground, blushing slightly. He chuckled.

"Now, how about that coffee, Hopps?"

She gave him an irritated look. "No."

He slowly leaned in closer,"You sure?"

She just scowled at him and turned away.

"Okay, fine then. I'll be back in a second." He stood up and left.

She closed her eyes and exhaled, partly glad Nick wasn't there to bug her about the coffee. She usually thought he was charming until he started to annoy her. It drove her crazy. She shook the thoughts off and opened a drawer where she found some photos of her and Nick having fun from previous cases or trips. One had Nick wearing a weird mask with her in the background dancing. She giggled. The second picture showed them when they solved their second case together. Another was a picture of them both having switched their outfits—Judy dressed in Nick's trade mark Hawaiian shirt and Nick in a police uniform. She had to admit, he looked good in a police uniform.

She sat the pictures down as a certain smell interrupted her thoughts. Her nose wiggled as her whole body stood alert. She sniffed. It smelled like… Coffee? She turned to look towards the door where Nick was currently standing—two coffee cups, one in each hand. He smirked as he put one on her desk. For a moment she stood there dumbfounded, but her scowl returned and she protested.

"I thought I told you I didn't want coffee!" She crossed her arms.

"Well, your welcome." He sat in his rolly-chair again.  
She stared at him with an unintentional adorable scowl as she steamed. He grinned.

"Well, if you don't want it," he playfully began,"I can just have it, right?" He began to slide her coffee cup towards himself. Her eyes got wide as it neared his mouth.

"NO!" She quickly snatched it from his hands, being careful enough not to spill it, and took a sip. He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee while he leaned back into his chair.

"You like it?"

She held her scowl for a few seconds before she smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Thanks."

He smiled warmly at her and continued to sip his coffee. "No problem." Nick then noticed the pictures on her desk. He smiled as he picked up the picture where they had switched outfits. "One of my favorites." He said. He put it back in the pile and looked back up at Judy. "Mine too." She smiled warmly at him.


	2. What's Up?

**"What's Up?" Zootopia Fanfiction #2**

"Phew, finally!" Judy said as she pushed a stack of recently-finished papers away from her while wiping her brow. She slouched in her chair and rested her head on her desk. Today had been a very busy day for her. She'd recently got a case where a gang was causing some trouble. The only problem? They couldn't figure out where the gang was hiding.

She stretched slightly and leaned back in her chair. She looked over at the piles of paper on her desk, then to the rest of her office. Everywhere, extensive stacks of paper were scattered. She sighed, wondering how she was going to organize it all.

She glanced at the clock on her wall. It was now about 9 o'clock at night and most of the officers at ZPD had either gone home or went off to patrol Zootopia. It was so quiet and she was so tired. Closing her eyes, she slowly started to doze off, giving in to the temptation of sleep.

"What's up cottontail?"

Judy jumped out of her chair, taken aback by the intruder that currently resided in the doorway of her office. "AHH! Oh my gosh," she bellowed, "Nick! Don't scare me like that!" She put her paw over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly. Nick snickered as he strolled in, making his way to his rolly-chair before sitting down in it.

"Sheesh, sorry! Someone's in a bad mood." He put his hands up in defense as she air-choked him.

She sat back down in her chair and sighed. Nick pushed himself towards her desk, propped his head up on one arm, and smiled. Judy scowled at him and crossed her arms.

"Soo," Nick started, "Did ya miss me?"

"Certainly not."

Judy watched as Nick suddenly stood straighter in his seat while he clutched his heart, gasped dramatically, and lowered his ears, pretending to be shocked and hurt. He then lowered in his seat and gave her the puppy-dog face. Judy rolled her eyes, clearly not amused.

"Do you really mean that, Judy?" He slowly leaned in closer.

"Of course not, you big goof!" She said as she playfully pushed him away.

He immediately returned to his usual smug-self and chuckled. She smiled at his over exaggerated performance. As much as he annoyed her, she was glad he was here. He looked around, noticing all of the stacks of papers. He thought it must've had something to do with that gang case. He snapped his fingers as he remembered what he wanted to tell Judy.

"I'll ask again," he cleared his throat dramatically before inhaling a big gulp of air and pausing. "What's up cottontail?" He sang, much to her annoyance.

"Nothing much—and don't call me that. What about you?"

He grinned. "Well, I might've found out where that gang hides out."

Her ears perked up as she looked excitedly at him, "Really?!" He nodded, not expecting what would happen next.

She bombarded him with a hug, "Nick! You're amazing! How'd you find it?" He just stood there, frozen with shock as he tried to comprehend what was happening. He then snapped out of it and relaxed. "Um, I followed one of them to where it was."

She then jumped off of him and walked towards her desk. She pulled out a map and unfolded it. "Where is it?"

"It's near that night club in an abandoned factory somewhere around here." He pointed at the location on the map.

"Great! I'll tell the chief and we can get started! Thank you so much Nick!" She eagerly ran out of her office to find Chief Bogo, leaving Nick alone.

He smiled and watched her in the distance as he slid his hands into his pockets lazily. "You're welcome," he whispered.


	3. A Perfect Day

**"A Perfect Day" Zootopia Fanfiction #3**

On a perfect day such as this one, the city of Zootopia was bustling with energy. All around, the loud chattering from passing crowds could be heard and the sweet smell of nearby coffee and ice-cream shops filled the air. Not a single unhappy soul could be found. It was a wonderful day in Zootopia!

 _'It's perfect weather for a walk in the park.'_ A smiling bunny sporting a police uniform thought upon seeing how beautiful the park looked today. This was officer Judy Hopps of course. Today, she decided to take the scenic route and just walk to ZPD instead.

 _'Almost there.'_ She thought as she turned the corner of a building. That said building was Zootopia's very own Police Department. She approached the door and opened it, taking note of the cool breeze of air that encased her.

She greeted Clauwhauser as usual before heading towards her office. She noticed he seemed more giddy than usual but continued anyway. Just before opening the door to her office, Judy stopped. She had gotten a weird feeling… like something or maybe someone was already waiting for her on the other side. She shook off the feeling and turned the doorknob before pushing the creaking door open to reveal!… Nothing. It was the same little office she left yesterday—the lights were still off and everything. She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that nothing was there.

"Whew! Haha… I was just a little paranoid, that was all." She assured herself quietly. Even so, she was still cautious when taking the first few steps inside. She reached up to the light switch and switched it on. Automatically, the lamp on her desk was turned on and light filled the room. Her big eyes scanned the room before walking towards her office window. However, before she could reach the window to open the blinds, she heard the door shut which was followed by the sound of the light switch flicking off. It was completely dark now except for the few slivers of lights coming through the blinds. She gasped as she stumbled through the dark towards the window. She opened the blinds immediately to let light through and who she saw standing by her door was a surprise. She sighed. It was Nick!

"Oh, Nick! It's you!"

He flipped the light switch back on which turned the lamp on to fully reveal Nick Wilde, the one and only. "Yep, thought I'd give you a little scare before I said hi." He said with a smirk and a chuckle before casually sitting in his rolly-chair.

She smiled. Usually, she would be mad at him, but she couldn't remember the last time she saw Nick which was about three days ago. That was long enough for her.

"Well, how did I not notice you? I didn't even hear you…" She wondered out loud.

"Oh me? I hid behind the door when you came in, and I stood completely still. Plus, it's hard to see someone in the shadows when you don't have night vision, huh cottontail?"

She let out a scoff, "Oh." She sat down in her chair and pulled some papers out for her to finish.

He scooted his chair closer to her in an exaggerated fashion, before placing one arm on her desk and propping his head up on it. "So, how've you been?"

"Great!" She announced. "This weekend, I visited my family and I saw a couple of my new baby siblings, and I also finished with—"

"Oh yeah! That sounds great," he said with an uninterested but enthusiastic tone. Her ears lowered slightly, saddened by her friend's lack of interest. She quickly perked up though when she thought of a way to grab his attention.

"And how have you been Mr. Wilde?"

"Ooh, I see we're getting fancy with names, aren't we Ms. Hopps?" He leaned in smoothly, showing his big, green eyes. She immediately looked away.

 _'No way this is happening again! Just play it cool, Judy.'_ She thought before turning abruptly towards him and looking at him straight in the eyes with a piercing stare.

In an overly-serious voice, she answered back. "Why, yes Mr. Wilde."

He began to giggle and their eye contact was broken. Confused at first, Judy started to laugh with him.

"I can't even. I just can't," he said as he wiped an invisible tear from his eye. "Please, don't ever call me Mr. Wilde again! It sounds like I'm my dad…" he joked.

Judy's ears perked up a little. _'Nick's dad?'_ He hardly ever mentions his family.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Nick getting up from his chair. She watched as he walked towards the window, taking in the beautiful day that was just on the other side of the glass.

"Judy."

"Yes?"

He turned towards her. "We should go out and take a walk sometime today. What do you think?"

Her heart skipped a beat and she could already feel her cheeks heating up as frantic thoughts entered her mind. _'What?!… He wants to go out with me?! Is this a date? What! Pshht, no! Of course not! A fox and a bunny? Together? That won't happen… right? I mean, this is just a walk right? Yeah, yeah. We're just walki—'_

"Judy! Hey, snap out of it. Helloo?" She suddenly saw a paw waving in front of her face. Shaking her head out of the daze, she looked up at Nick who was the owner of that said paw.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." She assured him.

"Geez, I thought I had lost you, Judy! You bunnies! Always blanking out." He playfully said as he plopped down on the couch in her office. She didn't really take offense at his comment since he said things about bunnies all of the time.

"So, do you or do you not wanna go walk with me, cottontail?"

"Um… Sure! Of course I do! I'll clock out early and we can walk to, um…"

"I was thinking to the park." He smirked as he saw her smile grow wide.

"Yes, of course! How does," she glanced up at her clock, "3 O'Clock sound like?"

"Great. In the meantime, I'll be here." Those were the last words he said before he closed his sleepy eyes and shifted to get comfy on the couch.

Soon, Judy heard the soft snores of the sleeping fox while she pondered the meaning of their relationship. She's known him for four months. They usually see each other almost everyday. Somedays for cases or stakeouts, others for just hanging out. He had always teased her though and that bothered her. Judy never took his flirting seriously but it often kept her wondering. _'Could he really like me?'_ Sometimes, however, he could be a real pain. She remembers when they first met, he was conning animals straight from the get-go. It wasn't right. The notion that foxes shouldn't be trusted at all costs that came from her folks back home couldn't be true, could it? Well, at least for most foxes it couldn't be. Besides Nick has changed his ways—for the most part. Sometimes he's lazy and irresponsible and that drives her insane too. Whenever she asks him to do something, there is a 50% chance he doesn't do it and she ends up doing it herself. But, she has to admit, he is pretty good at solving things, which helps her a lot when cracking a case. He also gives her support when she really needs it. And he's very sweet when he wants to be and he's just a… a really good friend… or maybe something more?… She looked over to him still sleeping peacefully on the couch. He lay flat on his back with one arm covering his forehead and the other hanging limply off the side of the couch. She smiled warmly as she noticed how cute he was.

She looked up at the clock. It was now 2:47 and she decided this was a good time to wake him up from his nap for their walk. Hopping out of her chair, she approached him. She watched how his ears slightly twitched when she stepped towards him and how he breathed so delicately. His mouth was slightly open and she giggled when she noticed a hint of drool at the corner of it. She waited a few moments before gently shaking him awake. He began to stir.

"Nick… Wake up, it's almost 3 O'Clock." Judy announced softly.

Without opening his eyes, he moved his arm away from his forehead before curling back into the couch and away from Judy. "It's what? What's going on?" He said groggily.

"It's almost time for our walk… Y'know to the park?" She explained.

"…oh, oh yeah. Lemme just wake up a little and then we'll go, okay?" He smacked his lips a little before giving out a big yawn and relaxing back into the couch. Judy smiled at him.

"Okay, I'm going to clock out, and I'll be right back," Judy said before walking out of her office.

Nick wished he could go back to sleep but he didn't want to disappoint Judy. Before getting up, he stretched and hoped She wouldn't come back anytime soon to hurry him. In fact, this was the first time in a long time that he's gotten some good sleep. However, much to his displeasure, he finally opened his eyes and sat up. He yawned again before standing.

At that moment, Judy came back in. Standing up straight with both paws on her hips, she gave him an eager look.

"You ready to go?"

"Sure!… Where to Ms. Hopps?" He joked as he acted like a limousine driver opening a car door.

"Why, to the park of course, Mr. Wil—" A finger was put up to her mouth to interrupt her.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, cottontail. Remember what I said about having Wilde behind mister. That's a no, no." They both laughed while Judy hid her small blush.

"I'll remember that the next time then." She smiled.

He straightened his tie. "Alrighty, let's go!" Nick walked out the door while motioning Judy to follow. Before leaving the office, Judy closed the blinds, flipped off the lights, and closed the door. They left the building together before venturing off to their destination. And with that, both had a wonderful walk in the park on that perfect day.


	4. Break

**"Break" Zootopia Fanfiction #4**

There comes a time in the day when officers at ZPD get to take breaks, where they are free from doing any work while resting in the break room. Although she enjoyed having a break every now and then, Judy was determined to finish whatever needed to be done. If that meant staying behind to finish filing police reports or paperwork, she would do it. Her partner, Nick Wilde, would often beg her to come and join him in the break room instead of just sitting in her office, continuing to work. Usually, she would refuse to go but not today.

Today, they didn't have patrol duty, but they had a lot of paperwork to go through. Both Nick and Judy were working together, which was a rare thing to see since Nick was usually sleeping on the couch, looking at his phone, or flirting with Judy while she worked. Judy was sitting at her desk while Nick was in his rolly-chair next to an open filing cabinet. She stacked some papers together before handing them to Nick, where he quickly looked at the label on the stack before placing them in the correct folder. Earlier, they had sorted through the papers to make sure they were in order and filled out correctly. Originally, they had started out with 6 full stacks, with each containing at least 200 pieces of paper. They were now down to 1.

Nick was handed the last stack of paper. "Is this the last one?"

"Yeah," Judy sighed out as she leaned back in her chair. She watched as Nick placed the papers in the 'Z' folder and closed the cabinet door before wiping his brow and also leaning back in his chair. He raised his arms, stretching them before lowering both on his closed eyes.

"Finally!"

Judy giggled. "Now you know how I feel when you don't help!"

He lifted one arm to reveal both of his tired eyes. "Cottontail. I'm pretty sure I slowed you down on this so you're better off without me helping anyways." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Oh yeah, sure. Nice excuse to be lazy."

"Isn't it, though?" He chuckled before looking up at her wall clock. It was almost breaktime. He rolled towards her desk.

"Sooo," he started, "are you going to take a break?" His suave expression was replaced by the puppy-dog face. He knew she would say no so begging was his only option.

"Yeah, let's go!"

"Please go! Who will I anno—wait, what?...you're going?" he said, slightly confused and surprised.

She hopped out of her chair and looked back up at him with a smile. "Yes, I think we deserve a break. So, let's go!" She opened the door and walked towards the break room.

Nick stood there for a second before following her.

Judy took in the great atmosphere of the room as she arrived. Officers were all around, no doubt sharing crazy patrol stories or talking about something on the news. Nick soon entered the room to join Judy.

"Where do you want to sit?"

"Um... There!" Judy pointed to an empty table that was next to a snack machine and hopped over to it. However, before she could reach the chair, Nick cut her off. At this point, some officers began to watch the two. Her ears lowered as she gave him a confused look. Nick suddenly stood aside and gently grabbed the chair before pulling it away from the table and motioning her to sit down. He gave her a sweet, innocent smile which made her suspicious.

"Oh... Thank you Nick." Judy was about to sit down when she felt the chair disappear from underneath her. She let out a little squeak in fear of falling over, but she quickly regained her balance before it could happen. A couple officers let out a laugh. She turned her attention to the grinning fox behind her and the chair that was now about 6 inches behind were it should've been. A look of fake concern washed over his face as he saw she caught him grinning.

"Wow... You okay there, Cottontail? Looked like you tripped or something." He gave her a wry smile as she scowled at him. If it weren't for the other officers in the room, he would already have been tranquilized... or maybe he would just be given a severe scolding from her. He laughed.

"Yeah, hahaha. Very funny," she harshly pushed him aside and grabbed her chair from his paws before dragging it towards the table and sitting down in it. He snickered as he walked over to his own chair and sat down. He propped his head up on the table with both arms while giving her a charming smile. When he noticed that she was still scowling at him, he began to wiggle his eyebrows. Judy tried to stay angry at him but couldn't. Letting out a sigh, she rolled her eyes before giving out a small giggle. She had to admit, that was a very sneaky move that she should've expected from Nick.

"Break time? More like _prank_ _time_ for you Nick." Feeling clever about her own joke, Judy gave him a smirk.

"You got me! Haha! I see what you did there!" He laughed. "Hey, how about I go get us some coffee?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, be right back." She watched as Nick casually walked over to the coffee station and grabbed two styrofoam cups before turning the machine on and waiting for the coffee to heat up.

She brought one of her arms onto the table and propped her head up on it. This was definitely more fun than staying in her office to work.

 **Author's note:**

Thanks for reading and thank you so much for the support! I really do appreciate it! And of course I will write more Fanfictions for Zootopia. :) I plan on going for 10 chapters if not more, so don't worry! For the future, I was thinking about maybe doing a 2 part Fanfiction with a more serious/dramatic tone to strengthen the bond between Nick and Judy. It takes some time for me actually start writing so expect me to upload a new story every two weeks if not weekly. Again, thanks for reading!


	5. Trapped Part 1

**"Trapped" Pt.1 Zootopia Fanfiction #5**

"Alright, Cottontail. Let's head out!" Nick said to Judy as they walked through an office building. Judy laughed.

"Okay, but we're taking the stairs this time."

"What?! We're on the 30th floor. No thanks." Nick said as he walked towards one of the many elevators.

They had just gotten done interrogating the owner and boss of the company building that they were currently in called BioBucks. The company earns money by planting trees where various construction sites happen. It was a very profitable business. The boss was Mr. Buck, a white-tailed deer. He witnessed an attempted murder a week ago and they just wanted to drop by to get some details before he was brought to court. Now, they were patiently waiting for the elevator.

"Aww, c'mon. Taking the stairs is healthier!" Said Judy as she ran energetically around Nick. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, the elevator is quicker."

They both heard a ding and the elevator door opened. Even though they had both used the elevator earlier to travel up to the 30th floor, Judy suddenly had a weird feeling about using it this time. She looked inside cautiously. The elevator, being built to accommodate animals of all sizes, was about the size of an elephant. Nick entered the elevator and observed how hesitant Judy was to step inside.

"Pfft. What's wrong? Scared of the elevator now?" He bluntly asked as he pushed the button to Floor 1.

She planted her feet firmly on the ground and both paws on her hips as she looked up at him and scowled. "No!" Her scowl softened. "…I just have a weird feeling… That's all." Her ears lowered and her nervous look returned when the elevator door closed. They both jolted forward a little when the elevator started to move down.

"Well, I told you not to eat that donut Clawhauser gave you." He smirked.

"Not that!… It's something else… Besides, that carrot donut was delicious!"

"Whatever you say Cottontail…" Nick pulled out his phone and began to play on it. He frowned and started to raise the phone high up in the air. "Wow. They have horrible reception here," he added. Nonetheless, he still continued to play on it.

Judy's attention turned to the paw print-shaped floor counter on the wall. She anxiously watched as the floor number lowered. _16….15….14….13…..12…11…._

 _ **Krack**_

Both of their ears stood alert in unison at the unnerving sound. At that moment, they shared the exact same thought, _'What…was that?'_ They looked at each other wide-eyed. Nick smiled and laughed nervously before promptly taking ahold of the railing of the elevator. Suddenly, the hum of the elevator turned chaotic.

 _ **Vroooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmm**_

 _ **Krack-ack—POP–Kra-ck–pop-SHING–Krack…**_

 _ **BOOM.**_

They were jerked forward as the elevator began to shake violently. Soon after, the lights began to flicker and shift from on to off. It felt as if they were slowly being lifted into the air. Judy lifted her head to look at the floor counter. _9….8…7..6._ The elevator was going down too fast.

 _'Oh my God!'_ She quickly stumbled towards Nick and hugged him tightly. He held her close as he realized their situation. They braced themselves for impact.

 _ **VROOEEeEeeEEeEMMMmmmm…**_

 ** _POP–KREEEEEEEE-ACK—_** **THUD.**

Both of them met the floor with a violent, painful thud. For a while, it was silent—nothing but the sound of their breathing. That soon ended when Nick let out a groan of pain.

Judy's eyes snapped open. Everything was blurry. Although she couldn't see, she could definitely feel her body facedown aching on the cold floor. Especially her cheek. Her cheek really hurt. So did her knee… What happened? She didn't want to get up. Why did she wake up again?… Oh, Nick! She looked around helplessly for her partner without leaving her spot on the floor. She forgot she could hardly see.

"Nick?…" She called out weakly. There was no answer. At least she could hear him breathing.

 _'Okay Judy. The next step is to just get up,'_ she thought as she tried to pull herself up but failed when her arms buckled from underneath her, causing her to land painfully back on the cold floor. ' _Okay… Easier said than done.'_ She continued to lay there motionless as she built up the motivation.

 _'Come on, Judy. You can do this! Get up. Get up!'_

Suddenly, Judy let out a huff of determination before lifting herself up off the ground and turning over. She then pushed herself towards a nearby wall where she propped herself up on it. She panted, exhaustion and confusion taking over. She had so many questions going through her mind that she couldn't even count them all, let alone answer them.

Judy shook her head. She needed to focus. _'Nick. Where is Nick?'_

She wiped her eyes before blinking a bit to clear her vision. It became less blurry but it was still a bit cloudy. She surveyed the elevator floor. In the left corner, her eyes met with a slumped over fox who was lying facedown on the cold, hard floor; his muzzle being horizontal to it as he lay there silently. Taking note of the shifty elevator, she cautiously crouched down and started to crawl towards Nick, cringing every time her knee made contact with the floor.

By the time she reached Nick, her vision had cleared. Without hesitation, she shook him gently.

"Nick… Nick, wake up… Please, wake up Nick…" He didn't stir; he just continued to lay there, breathing faintly.

Judy waited for a moment while she stared at his closed eyes. Her lower lip began to quiver and her eyes began to water. She fell backwards onto the wall and slowly lowered herself next to Nick as she cupped her teary eyes. Even though it wasn't her fault, she just couldn't help but blame herself for this mess.

 _'How could I have let this happen?'_

"Judy?… Why are you crying?" She heard a weak voice ask.

Judy gasped and her ears stood up straight. She quickly halted her crying and looked down to find Nick lying on his back giving her a half-lidded gaze.

"Nick!" She lunged at him with her arms wide open which turned out to be a harmless hug. That was the case until she began to squeeze harder.

"Oh, Nick! You're okay! I was so scared! And now I'm so happy! It's amazing!" She exclaimed happily, relieved that they both were alright. Meanwhile, Nick was desperately trying to escape the hug of death she was giving him. He didn't even think she was physically that strong.

"—ugh, yeah–c-could y-you–gah–let go!" He wheezed out. She immediately let go and he gasped for air. She blinked, slightly surprised, then blushed and laughed nervously. "Hehehe… Sorry."

Nick held his sore ribs as he gave her a small scowl, "Yeah, ouch."

He leaned back on the wall, now sitting with his tail curled instinctively around himself. She noticed he didn't use his left paw too much when moving. His brow furrowed as he sighed before his tired eyes met with Judy's.

"So, what exactly happened?"

 **Author's Note:**

Yeah, so this story is at least going to have 3 or 4 parts so stay tuned! I wanted to do something to help strengthen the bond between Nick and Judy and getting them trapped in an elevator sounded perfect, haha. Also, depending on how long it will take me to write the other parts, I might upload other stories in between. Thank you so much for reading!


	6. Trapped Part 2

**"Trapped" Pt.2 Zootopia Fanfiction #5**

"Well… Earlier, I had a weird feeling about getting on the elevator and—"

"Yeah, I know that!… But why did the elevator go haywire?" Asked Nick, who directed his attention to the floor counter. Judy followed his gaze.

It was stopped between _4_ and _3_ which meant they were currently in between those two floors. If the elevator had continued to the 1st floor, it would've crashed, and they would most likely be seriously injured right now, if not dead. Judy's ears lowered as she shivered at the thought.

She turned to him. "I don't really know… But I'm glad that we're both okay." She smiled at Nick, who now had his eyes closed. He gave a half-smile before opening his eyes to look at her. Moments had passed as they rested until Judy realized that they should probably start figuring a way out of the death trap that they were in.

"Alright, first things first, how—"

"—Woah, what happened to your cheek?" With a concerned look, Nick leaned in and gingerly touched her cheek with his right paw.

"What? What's wro–ow!" She smacked his paw away when he decided to put pressure on it.

He held his paw back from her while looking at it with shock before revealing it to her—it had small traces of blood on it. She made an inaudible gasp. She then pressed her own paw to her cheek before pulling it back to take a look. She was bleeding.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

Nick quickly held up his right paw in defense. "I didn't know! Everything was blurry—I could barely see anything! Only a second ago did it clear up, sorry!"

She sighed. "Does it look bad?"

He wiped the small amount of blood off on his khaki pants as he looked closer. "Not too bad… I think you just scraped it. There might be a bruise underneath it by the way you smacked my paw away like that." He smiled before leaning back on the wall behind him.

Judy mustered up a weak scowl. "You can't blame me though. It hurts really bad… I think I might've landed on it." Judy remembered that she caught her fall with her arms but after that, she couldn't remember what happened. She turned her head to look at the section of the floor where she woke up. There were faint smudges of blood there. She couldn't believe she didn't notice that before. The wetness she felt on her cheek should've made it obvious enough. Her gaze shifted to her partially swollen knee and she cringed. It had seen better days. She turned back towards Nick who was relaxing on the wall nonchalantly with his eyes closed.

"What about you then?"

Nick's ears snapped up, and he responded back without opening his eyes. "What do you mean? 'What about you then?'"

"I mean, are you hurt?"

Nick scoffed. "Sorry to disappoint you Cottontail, but I'm not hurt." She gave him an unimpressed look before directing her gaze to his left paw, which he held closer to his body when he saw her eyeing it.

They both made eye contact for a few seconds before she broke the silence. "Nick, are you lying to me?" Her brow raised while she waited for an answer.

"No."

"…Nick…"

"…Alright, fine! I think I landed on my paw wrong and now it hurts, okay mom? Sheesh!"

She giggled. "That's better." She then moved closer to him. "Now, let me see."

"Umm, how about no." He held his paw close to his chest stubbornly as he pouted.

"…"

He huffed as he turned towards her while holding out his paw, giving in. She took his paw, which was twice as big as hers, and gently bent it. He winced. She gave him a look of worry, her ears lowered at the sight of her friend in pain.

"How do you think you landed on it?"

"Don't know and don't want to try it again." He plainly stated.

"Well, can you move it yourself?"

He then bent his wrist side to side with ease. It was almost a convincing act. "Now move it up and down." She smirked when he glanced nervously at her then back to his paw.

Nick let out a quiet gasp when he bent his paw downward. He looked back up to Judy, smiling triumphantly. Now all he had to do was bend it upwards. Slowly, he shakily lifted his paw up. He thought he was done until she said, "All the way?" He gave a nervous little laugh. He then lifted his paw up a degree more and immediately regretted it. He grimaced as pain shot up his arm, and he quickly held his tender wrist close to his body in an attempt to soothe it.

"Yep, you've got a sprained wrist." She concluded, now satisfied at getting back at him for putting pressure on her cheek.

"No duh." Nick remarked, still in slight pain as he held his paw. She ignored it.

"Now that that's done, let's figure out a way to get out of here!"

Judy began to think. _'Since we're in between the 3rd and 4th floor, maybe we can call for help…'_

 **Grrrrowl…**

Her ears stood up at the strange sound that interrupted her thoughts. She looked over to Nick who was clutching his stomach and giving her a slightly embarrassed look. He let out a nervous laugh before saying a phrase familiar to Judy's ears. "I'm hungry…"

Judy knew how Nick was. Even though he seemed to keep his chill most of the time, he could get pretty cranky real fast if he skipped a meal. Of course, it was understandable that since Nick was an animal twice as big as her, he would need more calorie intake. She would always shrug it off as normal whenever he would start whining about how hungry he was while they were on patrol for long hours. Whenever hungry, Judy would always remain calm and patiently await the next opportunity to get some food. However, food was not available right now, which was a problem.

"When was the last time you ate?"

He shrugged, taking a moment to think about it. "Umm, around two."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. What a baby. If only he hadn't eaten all the snacks she'd packed this morning in their car for this little trip. Oh well.

"Well, the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we get to eat." She said assuringly.

Nick leaned back on the wall with his arms comfortably positioned behind his head. "I guess you're right Cottontail, but how do you propose we do that?" He smirked when he saw her determined expression replaced by an unsure one.

Judy continued to think for an answer. She looked around and noted that there was no emergency phone in the elevator. ' _Phone…'_ Judy thought, _'Phone?… That's it!'_

"Nick! Where's your phone?!"

Suddenly, Nick began to pat down his pockets frantically. Finally, when all of his pockets were checked, he shrugged with a really sad face.

"Don't know…"

Judy looked around on the floor and spotted it. "Found it!"

Life was breathed back into Nick as he heard those words. His ears perked up and his usually half-lidded eyes widened with happiness. Judy even saw his tail wag. She quickly picked the phone up and suddenly grimaced at it.

"What?! What's wrong with it?!" Nick edged closer to her in attempt to see his precious baby.

"…umm, I'm sorry about this Nick, but…" She hesitantly showed him the screen of his phone, which was now cracked.

He immediately threw his head back while grasping the air. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

His arms then lowered onto his eyes as he slumped over onto the floor. "Why didn't we take the stairs?!" He cried out in a grieving fashion.

Judy decided not to answer that as she stood there awkwardly. She would never understand the strange relationship between him and his phone. Nonetheless, she still felt sorry for him.

Judy pushed the power button and it turned on. "…it still works…" She softly mentioned in an attempt to calm him.

He sniffled. "Really?…"

"Mmhmm." She smiled when she saw him lay on his back. He gave out a sad sigh.

"I guess that's better than nothing..."

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry for the delay! I was hoping to get this done earlier, but I couldn't. I think I will make the next part a little more serious as it might be the final part of "Trapped." Also, I've noticed some of you have asked if it's okay to give me some ideas, and I'm completely fine with that (just nothing inappropriate). Displaying some of your ideas in my Fanfictions would give me some insight of what you guys would want to see. Anyways, thank you so much for reading and for your support!


	7. Trapped Part 3

**"Trapped" Pt.3 Zootopia Fanfiction #5**

Judy pressed the power button again to reveal the time. It was now 5:34 PM. The realization that they've been trapped in that elevator for about an hour and a half made her sigh.

"We've been in here for almost an hour and a half…"

"Check and see if the reception is any better. If it is then we can call for help," Nick suggested. Judy then looked at the top of the cracked screen. There was one bar that flickered on and off. She raised the phone high in the air in hopes of increasing the signal, but sighed when it didn't help.

"It's no use… There's only one bar here that keeps flickering on and off so even if we did call for help, the call would probably be disconnected at some point… I doubt my communicator will pick up anything either..."

They both shared a worried look as they sat there.

"What are we going to do then?" Asked Nick.

"…I…I guess just wait…I'm sure somebody will notice we're missing at the department," Judy said, defeated.

Seconds passed as they waited… Then minutes… Eventually, hours had passed and the pain of their injures have almost completely subsided.

"Can I at least play on it?" Nick asked with an impatient and agitated tone as he chased Judy around the elevator.

Judy held his phone out of his reach and dodged his every attempt to grab her. "No, we need to save the battery incase we actually get a call!"

Nick paused. "A call? But you said so yourself—" He cleared his throat dramatically before repeating what she had said earlier only in a higher, more annoying voice in a horrible attempt to sound like her, "'Even if we did call for help, the call would probably be disconnected.'"

She put her paws on her hips for a moment as she scowled up at him. "I do not sound like that! Besides, we really do need to save the battery! I know that the reception is bad here, but what if we need to check the time or something, and we can't because you used up all of the battery playing Cricket Crush!" She honestly couldn't believe they were fighting and running around in an elevator, not to mention one that was unstable. She swiftly ran the other direction while Nick followed closely.

Judy came to a sudden, skidding stop as she reached the corner of the elevator. She turned around to run the other direction but it was too late; Nick had already cornered her. He towered over her menacingly as he grinned ear to ear and held up his paws as he readied himself to grab her, flashing his claws in the process. He let out a dark laugh before saying the classic movie line, "I've got you right where I want you now my pretty."

She smiled nervously and let out an uneasy laugh before looking at the phone in her paws and pushing it away from herself to make it available to Nick, hoping he would take it and let her be. She didn't want Nick to look at her like that. It actually scared her a little. His predatory gaze encouraged her to cower into the corner as he edged closer. He then abruptly snatched the phone from her paws, shoved it into his pocket, but returned to the same stance. Judy was a little confused at this because she thought the phone was all that he had wanted from her. However, the confusion vanished when he licked the side of his muzzle, hunger in his eyes as he looked her up and down. The atmosphere of the room had now gotten really tense.

"Hehe… Nick, what are you doing?" Asked the nervous rabbit. He didn't answer back. Instead, he took a step forward while still holding his hungry gaze at her. She gulped.

Nick suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Judy by the sides. She squealed with uncontrollable laughter as she began writhing around on the floor under Nick's grasping paws. He was tickling her!

"Haha–Nick! HA!–stop it!" She couldn't stop laughing.

"NEVAH!" He yelled out as he continued to tickle her. A few seconds went by until she made the same plea again. He promptly stopped tickling but still held her down on the floor.

Judy gasped for air before trying to loosen the grip of his paws on her ribs. He gave her a mischievous, wry smile as she caught her breath.

"What's the magic word?"

"Um… Please?" She put on a pleading smile, hoping he would spare her from his tickling.

"Nope." He began tickling her again, despite her on-going pleas.

Eventually, Nick stopped and sat down next to an exhausted Judy. He looked over to her gasping form and chuckled.

"I bet you didn't see that coming, did ya Cottontail?"

She scowled at him as she held her sore sides.

"I'll get you back for this." She assured him.

"Oh, is that a threat?" Nick gasped dramatically before continuing. "OH NO! What ever shall I do?! Surely this bunny will bring me to my doom!" He leaned towards Judy before falling limply onto her, leaving her to carry his weight.

"Hey! Get off of me you big jerk!" She pushed him off and shot him a glare. He backed away slowly before cracking a smile at her. Her harsh glare softened as she looked at her mischievous partner.

Although they were strictly supposed to only be partners, they did have their moments of fun. And although she would always have to refrain from either murdering him or blushing most of the time, she really did enjoy Nick's company. She wouldn't know what to do without the dumb fox.

He didn't know whether it was because of his personality or charisma, but Nick always either wanted to impress or annoy Judy. Or at least make her laugh. Her company made his day worth while (although he would never admit that to her directly of course). He knew Judy, perhaps a little too much. She was everything you could ask for in a friend. She was kind, optimistic, intelligent, funny, faithful, and easy on the eyes… The list could go on and on. He always thought it was funny and strange that this small time, country-bunny with a big dream had changed his whole world. One minute he was a con-artist. The next, he was a police officer.

"What's the time?" Judy asked, unintentionally flashing her amethyst eyes at him.

Nick casually took his phone from his pocket and looked at it, his smile now faded. "It's 8:06…"

Judy's ears twitched at the realization that they've been trapped in the elevator for now over two and a half hours. Her expression become hopeless as she stared off into space. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her. She quickly looked up to see Nick comforting her. At first, she stood there shocked, unable to move. Soon though, she relaxed into his chest and closed her eyes. She was so glad she wasn't alone in this.

Nick sighed. He still couldn't believe they were trapped in an elevator. It felt like an illusion. A dream. Or more appropriately, a nightmare. Although the company was nice, Nick's stomach was seriously starting to ache with hunger, and he often wondered if the other ZPD officers began to notice their disappearance from the department. He yawned.

"…Hey, it's getting pretty late," Nick mentioned as he pulled away from Judy. "I think if we're going to be stuck here for a while we might as well get some shut-eye."

Judy looked up at him and nodded. "I guess I'll sleep over here then." She said as she crawled over to a corner opposite of Nick and laid down. Judy cringed as her arm touched the floor, taking note of how dirty it was. At that moment, the elevator lights suddenly dimmed, a sign that the building was now only running on half power for the night.

Nick scooted towards his corner and relaxed into it. "Alright, good night then." He cooed to her as he closed his eyes. Soon, Judy also closed her eyes.

Minutes passed until Judy heard Nick's soft snoring, a confirmation that he was in a deep sleep. She opened her eyes to take a peek at his sleeping form and smiled. He was nestled up against the wall with his head tilted down and his arms loosely hugging his legs. His mouth, of course, was open. She closed her eyes again, still wondering if anyone had noticed their disappearance. Soon enough, Judy then drifted off to sleep.

 **Growl**

Nick's eyes snapped open from the sound. He looked around drowsily for the source of it before realizing it was his own stomach. He shifted his sleepy gaze over to Judy who looked like she could sleep through an earthquake. He looked down to his left paw and moved it. Although it still ached a little, it was way better than before. He let out a small sigh of relief as he relaxed back into the corner and closed his eyes. Soon, he heard the noise again.

 **Growl**

Nick quickly held his stomach in an attempt to quite the growl. He looked over to Judy again who was still sound asleep. He hated that he had to skip a meal because of the situation that they were in. His hunger was uncomfortable but Judy seemed to be unaffected by the fact that they had both skipped dinner. _'Pfft. Herbivores…'_ He looked at the time on his phone and his eyes widened. It was now 4:17 AM. Suddenly, his hunger felt like it skyrocketed at the realization that he hadn't eaten in about 15 hours. He sat his phone down by his side as images of cricket burgers, pizza, and other foods taunted him in his head, making him drool slightly. The taunting images of food ceased when he looked towards Judy. He subconsciously licked his lips out of hunger as he stared at her sleeping form. It took him a second to realize that he was drooling even more. Nick quickly shook his head and stood there petrified at his own actions.

 **Growl**

He clenched his stomach as he stood back with shock. How could he even look at Judy that way? Like she was food? He felt disgusted with himself. Nick had heard survival stories of when predators would often kill prey animals and eat them as a last resort to survive. He shivered at the thought of ever hurting Judy. But he wondered… _'What does rabbit taste like?'_ Nick shook his head, surprised at the thought. He felt really tense, tugging at his collar as he began breathing heavily with worry. _'I wouldn't hurt Judy, right? I mean, she's my partner and I… I…'_ His gaze then shifted to the sleeping rabbit as he began to stare at her again.

 _ **Grooowl**_

Without a second thought, Nick creeped closer on all fours towards _his vulnerable prey._ His thoughts became blurred as primitive urges took over. He circled her a couple times before leaning down to her neck and taking in her scent. The dried blood on her cheek immediately gave him an unbearable urge to bite, but he held back and waited instead. The fox quietly observed as her chest bobbed peacefully up and down. He then opened his toothy mouth just big enough for a rabbit's neck and paused, hovering over hers as saliva dripped off of his canines and onto the sleek fur of her neck. Slowly, he brought his fangs closer and closer until they were a centimeter away before—

"Nick? Is that you?"

Nick immediately jumped back, slamming his back into the wall leaving Judy confused. Judy wiped the sleep from her eyes, the sudden slamming noise making her jump to her feet only seconds before. She seemed to be oblivious to the fact that Nick could've ripped her throat out. Looking towards Nick, she noticed he was breathing hard and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Judy immediately approached him with concern. However, Nick instantly put a paw out in an attempt to stop her from coming any closer. He looked as though he was afraid of hurting her.

"Get away!"

"But Nick, what's wrong?" She took another step and he recoiled.

"Just get away from me!" He yelled.

Judy lowered her ears as she took a step back, still unsure of the reason of his sudden outburst. She had never seen Nick in this much distress and she was worried. She remembered waking up to feeling something warm on her neck which was weird, and now Nick was yelling at her to get away. She looked back to Nick to see him facing a corner while clutching his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Judy really was frightened at his behavior, but she needed to know what was wrong. She slowly inched closer until she was behind him.

"Nick. What's wrong?" Said Judy as she placed her paw on his tense shoulder.

"GET AWAY!" Nick revealed his face to her as he yelled, baring his teeth in a threatening way. He then growled at Judy, scaring her into finally removing her paw from his shoulder.

She stood back in shock, giving him some space. A confused but still concerned look appeared on her face as she stood there silently. She brought her paw up to her neck to rub the back of her it hoping it would ease the tension that she felt but it was met with something unexpected. Rubbing the side of her neck, Judy felt a patch of her fur that was wet… and warm. She continued to feel the substance as she watched him huddle in the corner. Her eyes began to widen when she connected the dots.

After a minute, Nick turned around to find Judy standing there petrified with her eyes and mouth wide as she held the side of her neck, slight terror in her eyes. Moments passed as they stared at each other in silence. He had no idea what to say. Knowing the previous few times he bit her were only to joke around or scare her were all just pretend, he had no idea how to explain what just happened. She would never believe that this time was a joke because one: he woke her up in the middle of the night and two: he actually drooled on her which is something he can normally control. Thoughts and excuses were flying through his mind as he tried to find a way to explain the situation. Nick was so afraid; afraid of their friendship being torn in two because of what he did. Mustering up the confidence, he finally took a step forward towards her. She immediately took a step away from him. He sighed at her reaction before looking down at his feet in remorse, ears folded down.

"…J-judy, I know… I know what you're thinking, and it's…not what it seems, okay?" Nick assured her. ' _Of course it is, stupid. Now she'll never want to be around me again.'_ He ignored the thoughts as he focused on the rabbit in front of him. He then decided to kneel down when she remained unmoved from his simple explanation. He continued.

"Please, Judy… I didn't mean to do it. I swear! I promise! I didn't mean to do it! It just… It just happened… I didn't know what came over me… Look, I'm sorry, so sorry Judy. Please, please, please forgive me." He pleaded with a sincere tone but looked back up to see the unchanged expression of his soon-to-be Ex-best friend. She stared down into his emerald eyes for a moment before turning her head and looking away in disapproval. His heart stopped for a second as he choked out a final, weak plea before letting his head go limp as his body slumped over, defeated and shocked.

He agreed with himself that she would probably avoid him as much as possible now that she knows that he could've killed her. He didn't want that. He never wanted her to be afraid of him. He knew it was over. Right when he was on the verge of tears he felt a soft pat on his head.

"Hey… It's okay… I understand… Just don't scare me like that again, okay?" A soft, comforting voice spoke out to him.

He stayed still for a moment before lifting his head up to see the cheerful face of his partner. She immediately embraced him with a hug and he nearly fell over from the force, giving her a look of suprise and confusion in the process.

"… You mean, you're not scared?… Or mad?" He questioned with hesitation. Judy pulled away from Nick to look at him like he was crazy.

"Of course not! I hate to tell you this Nick, but you're about as scary as a flower in May." She cracked a wry smile at him.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "Gee, thanks." He shrugged, still happy that he was forgiven.

Judy laughed. However, deep down, she knew that this was no laughing matter. If she hadn't woken up at that moment, Nick could've… killed her. Although she trusted Nick, she wouldn't go testing how long he can go without food. They needed to get out of there. The reason not only being to get back to their lives, but also to prevent Nick from hurting her or himself.

"So, um… Are you still hungry? What time is it?" Asked Judy.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… Yeah… a little bit." Judy noticed how sensitive he was towards the first question due to the previous situation so she decided not to press on with related topics. He looked at the time on his phone. "…It's 4:32 in the morning."

Judy jumped up from what Nick had said. "What?! 4:32 AM?!"

 ** _KRAAACK_**

Both of them cringed at the familiar sound. They slowly turned towards each other with their eyes wide with worry when they both realized that the elevator had made that noise.

"Okay, hehe, let's not move too much… It seems like this thing is still very unstable," Nick cautioned. Judy nodded before slowly sitting back down onto the floor.

She looked around vigilantly. "This thing seems like it could go down at any second." She then gave him a serious look. "We need to get out of here now." Right after Judy had said that, the elevator produced another sound.

 _ **Pop-SHinG**_

They both froze in fear. In sheer desperation, the two began yelling for help as loud as they could in hope of attracting attention from a janitor or an early worker despite that the elevator was practically sound proof. Moments passed before they realized it was no use. They sat there breathless before hearing another sound. However, this sound wasn't as familiar to their ears.

 _ **REeeVEVvEeEEEEEEeeEEEVE**_

They gave each other a look before Judy's right ear suddenly popped up. She gasped in excitement before relaying what she had heard to him. "Voices!"

"Wait, what?! What do you mean, 'voices'? I think you've finally cracked, Cottontail." Nick joked.

"No, no! Voices! I hear voices from outside of the elevator! I think we are being rescued!" She exclaimed.

 _ **REEEVEEeeeEEEEeEEevE**_

 _ **POP–KRAaAcK–SHIng—REEEeeEVVEveeEEEEeEVE**_

Suddenly, the elevator shifted a bit and the panicked duo drew closer together in fear of the elevator falling again.

"That's great and all Cottontail, but how are they supposed to rescue us when we're as flat a pancake?!" He said to her, worry evident in his voice. The noise was heard again.

 _ **REEVEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEVE–POP**_

The elevator then jolted down. They held tightly onto each other and closed their eyes as they prepared for the worst.

 _ **SHHHHHHHHREEEEEEEE**_

"Awww, you two are just the cutes–I mean, um, sweetest! Hehe, sorry Judy…" A familiar voice said.

They slowly relaxed and opened their eyes to see Officer Clawhauser peeking through the now halfway opened elevator door. A beaver wearing a safety vest and holding a megaphone up to his muzzle called out to them, "Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde, are you okay?"

Judy immediately jumped from their previous embrace in happiness and yelled out, "YAY! We're saved!" Chief Bogo promptly revealed himself in front of the opened doorway with his arms crossed.

"You might be saved right now Hopps, but nothing'll save you from the paper work you still have to file." Chief Bogo sternly stated towards the rabbit officer.

Nick dusted himself off casually as he smiled up at the rescue group. "So how's the weather out there?" He joked as Clawhauser and a couple of other officers laughed softly.

The beaver spoke into the megaphone again, "You're going to be okay. We'll throw a ladder down to you and you can climb up. Is that alright?"

"I reckon so!" Judy yelled back to him while Nick rolled his eyes at her sudden country accent.

Soon, all of them watched as a rope ladder was lowered down to the trapped pair. Judy gave Nick a look to see if he wanted to go up first but he politely motioned her to go. Without a moment to lose, she eagerly climbed up the ladder with Nick following close behind. When they were finally out of that elevator, they were brought to a safe area in the building to be examined by a doctor to make sure they were alright.

"You both are extremely lucky," said Dr. Nightwell, a raccoon. "You could've been severely injured or even worse–killed! It's incredible how you two are okay."

"Yes, I'm very thankful that we didn't get injured too badly. I'm so relieved that we're out of that death trap now." Said Judy who now had a bandaid on her cheek and a small ice pack for her knee.

Nick Wilde, whose wrist was now being examined by the doctor, was sitting right beside Judy. "I don't know, I kind've liked it in there." He said in a sarcastic tone.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

The elevator they were trapped in was barricaded and closed off on all floors to assure that no one else could be trapped in there. It would later be opened back to the public after it was fixed. And fortunately for Mr. Buck, they decided not to press any charges for the whole incident. Soon, they were bid farewell and best wishes by Dr. Nightwell and were now on their way to ZPD in a police cruiser. Chief Bogo was driving while Clawhauser sat next to him up front and Nick and Judy rested in the back. They were told that the other officers that couldn't be there at the time of their rescue, were now waiting for them at ZPD.

"So what did'ya guys do in there, hmm?" Clawhauser asked, edging closer with curiosity.

Nick and Judy both glanced at each other with very slight knowing and embarrassed expressions. "Oh, nothing…"

"…Oh. Okay then…"

"So, when did you guys realize we were missing?" Nick asked, trying to ease the awkwardness. He and Judy watched as Chief Bogo was going to answer his question but was beat to it by Clawhauser.

"Well, we called Mr. Buck and asked if he had seen you two, and he assured us that he saw both of you get on the elevator and that was the last he saw of you. At first, we all assumed that maybe you were hanging out or something, but then we got worried when Judy didn't answer back on her communicator or you didn't answer your phone." He explained. Nick looked at his phone which was now on 7% battery. He had _33_ _missing calls_ that never reached him.

"And how did you find us? The security cameras?" Asked Judy, curious. This time, Chief Bogo quickly answered before Clawhauser could.

"Yes, after we searched aroun' the entire area, I decided the next best thing was to look at the security cameras of BioBucks to see if you two actually walked out of the building. An' not surprisingly, neither of you did so we called Mr. Buck for permission to search the elevators and guess who we find in one of them?" Bogo saw in the rear-view mirror that Judy pointed to herself and Nick. "Hmhm… Glad to have you back Officer Hopps. You too Wilde." He gave a quick half smile to them both before reverting back to his usual moody expression.

She smiled happily at Bogo. Turning to Nick, she realized how tired the fox looked. She too decided to close her eyes and rest herself. They've been through so much together that it was unbelievable. Although she was going to try to forget the scary moments, Judy would never forget the moments of happiness they shared in that elevator. The silence made Judy think back to everything and she smiled warmly at the memories. Very soon, Nick broke the silence.

"I'm _hungry._ "

At that moment, Chief Bogo briefly looked back in his rear-view mirror to see Judy's eyes widen at Nick who was now giving her a half-lidded gaze and a smirk. Bogo decided not to ask.

They finally reached ZPD at 7:08 AM and went inside. There, you could hear and see the happiness and relief from the other officers as Nick and Judy walked inside safe and sound. After they got something to eat to quench their hunger, they told everyone how they had gotten trapped in the elevator and what happened—minus some details so no judgment came toward Nick's way of course. Afterwards, they told Bogo the details they had gathered from Mr. Buck about the attempted murder and they were given three days off to rest from the traumatic experience. When they were about to leave for home, Nick went over to talk to Judy.

"Hey, Cottontail." He smiled down at her.

"Hey, Nick." She smiled up at him.

He pushed opened the door and walked outside. She followed him, the morning sun stinging her eyes slightly. They went their separate ways, as usual, when going home. Nick liked to walk and Judy liked to drive.

"Remember what I said before we got onto the elevator?" Nick called out, getting farther and farther away from her as he walked towards the sidewalk. She paused to think.

"Um… No, I don't. What did you say?"

She could see him snicker to himself. "We should've taken the stairs!"

Judy scowled at him and balled her fist as she watched him disappear around a corner. She could hear him laugh in the distance, the sound taunting her every time he opened his mouth.

"Dumb fox."

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Sorry for the super long wait! I was extremely busy these past few weeks. Oh and just know that I will never give up on these Fanfictions without telling you guys! I've read so many Fanfictions where the author just stops in the middle of their story and I never hear from them again, and I just want you to know that I would never do that. Also, I saw Zootopia! It was amazing! If you haven't seen it yet, just go see it! It'll definitely become one of your favorite movies! And if any of you want to know updates to this story and sometimes sneak peeks you can follow my tumblr account which is _Thebestbunny75_. I've read many of your ideas and I will definitely put a few in my next stories! Thanks for your reviews and advice and thank you so much for reading!


	8. To the Store

**"To the Store" Zootopia Fanfiction #6**

 _'Today is the day!'_ Judy thought as she eagerly hopped out of her bed and ran into her small kitchen, still in her carrot-patterned pajamas. _Clanking_ noises were made when she pulled out six cake pans from one of the kitchen's bottom cabinets. She quickly sat them on the countertop and began pulling ingredients from her fridge along with a few bowls and spoons.

A moment later, Judy glanced at her kitchen clock and noted that it was 8:49 AM. The light that filled the room was very dim so she walked over to the concealed window of her kitchen and pushed the old curtains open, letting the morning light brighten the room. She stared out the window in content, looking over the beautiful, gleaming city of Zootopia. Standing back to take a look at the countertop of her kitchen, which was now filled with baking supplies, she went over to continue to work on it, placing items here and there to try and organize everything.

After neatly organizing everything, she proudly stood back to scan her baking setup and agreed with herself that it was perfect. Soon, she would bake six carrot cakes. Each will contain at least enough slices for a small portion of her siblings and her other relatives to snack on. The occasion?—It was Mother's Day! Every year, almost the entirety of her siblings came to the Hopps' Family Farm to celebrate and thank Bonnie Hopps for being such a great parent. The same went for her dad Stu Hopps when Father's Day came around.

Since she could fit three cake pans in her oven at a time and the carrot cake recipe takes about 2 hours in total to complete, Judy calculated that she would be finished baking and icing all six carrot cakes in about 4 hours. It would be about 12:00 PM when she would be finished which is perfect because the get-together is at 2:00.

Usually, many of her older siblings brought food for the celebration and now it was Judy's turn to start bringing some food. She was so excited and couldn't wait to see her family again! She had planned this out one week prior so nothing could possibly go wrong.

 **Knock Knock**

Judy cringed at the sound of somebody knocking at her door. ' _Who could that possibly be?'_ Her question was soon answered when she heard the animal speak from the other side of the door.

"Cottontail! It's me, Nick."

She was way too busy to talk to him right now. "Um, why are you here? Didn't Bogo give you the day off too?"

"What?! I am hurt by your words, Fluff! You should know that whenever I have time to spare that I automatically want to spend it with you, Cottontail." He gushed sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed one bowl filled with ingredients and starting mixing them. "Well, I'm kind've busy right now, but I guess you can come in. There's a spare key underneath my welcome mat." She knew she would regret doing this later. Nick usually gave her unexpected visits sometimes when he had a day off, probably just to check on her she supposed.

Her ears perked up slightly when she heard shuffling outside and then a key being jammed into the keyhole of her door. Out of the corner of her eye, the door squeaked open to reveal Nick, wearing his usual tacky attire, sunglasses included this time. She turned to him and watched as he bent down, lifting up the welcome mat and sliding the key back under there. He then casually strolled in, closing the door behind him in the process. Judy turned back to face the countertop and grabbed a cup of sugar before pouring it into the bowl she was stirring.

"Hey," Nick said, leaning on the countertop with ease. Turning towards her, he took off his shades and immediately suppressed a laugh.

The suppressed laugh caught Judy's attention. "What's so funny?" She asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"Oh, nothing…" Said Nick, letting out another small laugh.

Judy stopped stirring the bowl and thumped her foot in annoyance as she looked up at him. "No, tell me Nick!"

"Alright, alright… I'm laughing at your pajamas." He chortled.

Judy tilted her head in confusion before looking down at her pajamas which had carrots as the pattern. She mentally face palmed herself as she realized his reason for laughing. "Hahaha, very funny." She swiftly turned back towards the countertop to distract herself from her burning cheeks. She then briefly looked at a piece of paper titled "Hopps' Carrot Cake Recipe" before grabbing 2 cups of flour and pouring them into the bowl that she was holding.

In the midst of his chuckling, Nick looked at her, merriment in his eyes. He wished he could tell her how cute she looked but he knew that she was never very fond of that word. His snickering soon died down as he noticed all the ingredients and baking utensils on the countertop.

"So, watcha doin'?" He asked.

She continued to stir without looking at him. "Oh, I'm making a few carrot cakes for the Hopps' Mother's Day celebration! We have it every year at my family's farm and all of my siblings and a few of my other relatives come. It's super fun!"

"Uh-huh, sounds interesting, Cottontail."

Deciding that the dry mixture was done, she sat that bowl back down onto the countertop and reached for another one that was filled with different ingredients and began to stir it. She glanced at Nick who was still leaning on the countertop but now examining his claws, looking uninterested.

"So, um, what are you going to do for your mother?" Judy meekly asked. She never heard him say anything about his family, but this was the perfect opportunity to ask without sounding too nosy. She watched as his eyes widened and he slowly glance over to make eye contact with her. He then scratched the back of his neck with unease as he looked down at the ground.

"Well, I'm going to go see her around 2:00 O'Clock and hang out at her place for a few hours…"

"Oh, well that sounds nice!… Um… Did you get her anything?"

"Oh-oh, yes! I got her some roses and a couple of gift cards… What did you get your mom?" She watched as his eyes lit up with interest when he looked up after asking that question.

"Well, I got her a nice sunhat. She usually gets a lot of other stuff from the rest of my siblings because y'know," replied Judy, pointing to a small picture frame sitting on the kitchen countertop next to the fridge. As Nick moved closer to examine it, he noticed it was a picture of her large family. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed that rabbits littered every space.

He laughed softly. "Yeah, I know."

Judy finally stopped stirring and placed the bowl back on the countertop. She then preheated the oven to 350°F (or 177°C). She wiped her brow and leaned on the countertop, taking a break. Nick scooted closer.

"So since I'm here, is there anything I can do to help?"

She looked at him then back at the counter, trying to think of something. "Oh, no, I think I'm fine." She smiled at him, and he shrugged nonchalantly.

Minutes had passed before Judy finally had the cake batter ready to be poured in three pans. She poured the right amount in each of the pans, leaving no more cake batter in the bowl, and then she placed the three pans in the hot oven to bake. Afterwards, she turned to reach for another bowl and was about to grab a cup of sugar when she discovered something unsettling. There was almost no sugar left. She looked back to the flour and then to the other ingredients and realized they were almost gone too.

Nick watched as she began frantically opening cabinets around the small kitchen, searching them for something. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She grabbed her ears and pulled at them. "Oh, how could I forget!"

"Forget what, Cottontail?"

"Forget to go to the store and buy more ingredients!" She slowly sat down in a chair, rubbing her temples. She must've been too distracted when talking to Nick that she didn't even notice that her ingredients were running low.

"No worries, Cottontail. We can just go to the store right now and come back in about 30 minutes or so." Nick suggested.

Judy thought about the idea for a second before agreeing with him. She'd rather go than send him off to go get the ingredients considering how long he can take. "Alright, let's go! But we need to get back before the cakes burn, okay?"

Nick nodded his head as he walked towards the door. "Sounds good, I'll meet you outside."

"I'm going to go change and make a list of what we need!" Judy exclaimed as she walked out of the kitchen and into her little bedroom. As soon as she saw Nick walk outside and close the door, she opened her drawer and pulled out a fresh new t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans and put them on, throwing her PJ's in the dirty laundry basket during the process. Grabbing a pen and some paper, she jotted down what ingredients they needed to get before stuffing the paper into her back pocket. She then grabbed some money and dashed out the door. After locking it, she met up with Nick who had already walked a short distance down the sidewalk. And with that, they were on their way to the store.

By the time they arrived in the store parking lot, Judy was a nervous mess. Nick would never understand why rabbits got so keyed-up when they forgot something. He knows that Judy would usually stay calm in these situations and eventually get things back in order, but when her family was involved, she would get so frantic and worrisome. Nick would never get like that over some missing ingredients. But then again, he seldom seemed nervous due to the fact that he was good at hiding what he truly felt. Nonetheless, he still didn't understand.

Just as they walked into the store, Nick had an idea. Judy looked up at Nick's face and saw a mischievous grin. Wondering what he was thinking, she tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Nick snapped out of his daze and reverted back to his normal sleepy-eyed expression. "Oh, nothing." He replied coolly.

As they neared the shopping carts, Judy quickly paced ahead and grabbed one, pushing it towards Nick. He gripped the cart by the handle and looked back down at Judy as he awaited instructions.

Judy pulled out the list and skimmed over it. "Alright, we need to go get some all-purpose flour, some confectioner's sugar, white sugar, cream cheese, baking soda, and some butter. Oh, and why don't you read off the list as we go through the aisles so I can go ahead and grab the things we need." She handed Nick the list before walking off into the first aisle. He followed, the grin beginning to return to his face.

As Nick leaned on the shopping cart with one arm, pushing it slightly, while the other held the list, he watched Judy look back and forth to each shelf on both sides of her, scanning them for the right items. "Go ahead and list off the first one," she called over her shoulder as she walked.

"Um, okay… Uh, all-purpose flour."

As soon as Judy heard that, she jetted down the aisle, approaching the flour section and grabbing some. She turned to the cart and placed two of small sacks of all-purpose flour in there. "Okay, next one please."

"Confectioner's sugar."

He watched as she continued to look around until her eye suddenly caught a glimpse of something and she dashed over to where it was. Other animals passing by all wondered why the bunny was so hasty in her movements but shrugged the thought off after a few seconds. Unbeknownst to her, Nick wandered around gathering his own assortment of items while she was gone before returning back to the shopping cart.

Nick said item after item until Judy had nearly gotten all of them. He waited until the last two items to actually start putting his plan into action.

"Alright, say the next one!" Judy exclaimed, happy that they were nearing the end of their shopping.

Nick cracked a big smile, his slim body bending slightly over the shopping cart. " _Crickets_."

Judy immediately cocked her head in confusion. "Crickets?"

"That's what you wrote down on your list," Nick said, now walking towards the bug section of the store, leaving her in her bewildered state.

Judy stood there for a second before realizing what he was trying to do. She marched towards him. "Woah, woah, woah. Why would a carrot cake call for crickets? Let me see the list!" She quickly grabbed for the shopping list in Nick's hand but failed to do so when he pulled it away and out of her reach.

"Sorry, that's what the list says." He said wryly as she continued to hop in place for the list that was still out of her reach.

"Nick! Seriously, we need to hurry up! The cakes are going to burn!" She huffed angrily, thumping her foot in annoyance.

Judy watched Nick's eyes widen and his grin grow ear to ear as he looked at something in the distance behind her. She turned around to see what he was looking at and she could feel her eye twitch from the sight as she stood there unable to move with consternation. A murmur was then emitted from her mouth, "Oh. No."

Pushing the shopping cart with him, Nick immediately approached the slow figure and greeted him happily.

"Flash, Flash, hundred-yard dash! How ya doin'?" Nick said in an enthusiastic tone.

The sloth was examining some leaves in the produce section when Nick greeted him. Nick watched as Flash slowly turned around to face him, first with an unfamiliar expression, but then with a happy one.

"Oh, heya… Nick…. I am doing… well… How are… you … doing?" The sloth said unhurriedly.

"I'm doing great! In fact, Judy and I are about to get back to her apartment and finish baking some cakes. That reminds me, how're you and Priscilla doing, Bud?"

Flash slowly blinked before giving a big smile. "We… are doing… great… I was… just…. about… to get… some… salad… for our… date… to-morrow."

Judy began banging her head on the shelves as the two continued to converse. Soon enough, about 10 minutes later, they were finally done talking and went there separate ways. Nick approached Judy with a wry smile.

"You did this on purpose!" She pointed at him accusingly, her eyes burning with anger.

He turned to Judy, giving her an innocent look. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just talked to Flash for a little while, that's all."

"A little while?! You took nearly 10 minutes! You were stalling! You know about those cakes in the oven! Heck, what about the other ingredients? We need to get those too!"

Judy watched as he grabbed the shopping cart and pushed it towards the check-out aisles, seemingly ignoring her complaints entirely. "Hey, what do you think you're doing! Get back here!" She called out before hastily following him. When she approached him, he had already begun putting the groceries on the conveyor belt.

"Hey, we need to get those other ingredients before we leave!"

"Cottontail, chillax." He said coolly. "I've already gotten everything."

Nick immediately smirked when he saw her expression change from frustrated to confused.

"Wha–wait! What do you mean? You have the other ingredients? When did you—"

"I put them in the cart when you were off getting the other ingredients." He winked at her as he finished putting the rest of the groceries on the conveyor belt. At first, she stood there in a mixture of awe and confusion which turned into embarrassment as she started to feel her cheeks heat up.

They stayed silent as the cashier, a antelope, scanned the items one by one. Judy noticed that she gave them weird looks, glancing at them as if something was wrong. Judy looked up at Nick and noticed his ears were folded down in an uncommon fashion, signaling to her that he noticed it too. Finally though, when the cashier finished scanning the groceries, she stopped.

"Your total is $28.50." The cashier stated with a plain tone.

As Judy was reaching for the money in her pocket, she saw Nick reach for his own wallet. They locked eyes for a second before Nick suddenly sighed and his paw then retreated out of his pocket. He then gave her that look that read something along the lines of 'Oh no, I forgot my wallet.' She smiled, shaking her head as she thought, _'Of course…'_

She took out the exact right amount of money and handed it to the cashier. Afterwards, Nick and Judy left the store with grocery bags in hand.

About 5 minutes later, they approached the door to Judy's apartment complex, went in, and headed towards Judy's door. There, Judy unlocked the door and pushed it open before going in with Nick following her.

Now inside, Judy watched as Nick sat the groceries down on the worn countertop before he treaded sluggishly into her small dining room, where she could not see him. From the kitchen, she could hear him plop down on one of the many small chairs.

Without a second thought, she began sorting through the bags, placing the ingredients on the counter before putting oven mits on, opening the oven, and pulling out the cakes to let them cool. Soon, the scent of the cakes wafted throughout the entire apartment and Judy could hear Nick take in the scent of carrots, a smell he did not hate but one that he also did not like. She could imagine his nose twitching slightly as he tilted his head up in the air, trying to get a better idea of what the strange aroma was before his brow furrowed and his muzzle recoiled in a sneer of disgust the exact moment he figured out that the smell was carrots. Setting the pans on the countertop, she heard a complaint proving what she thought he did was true.

She heard him huff. "I'll never understand why bunnies like carrots."

Judy shook her head, smiling. "And I'll never understand why foxes like blueberries," she remarked.

She heard him laugh softly. "Hey, don't knock 'em till ya try 'em."

Soon after, when Judy grabbed a bowl to start making the icing, she heard footsteps coming from the dining room. Nick shuffled into the kitchen next to Judy, surveying her every movement. He then smirked.

"Sooo…" Judy watched as he brought his paw up to his mouth and coughed playfully into it before continuing. "You think you can cut me a slice?"

Judy turned to him, bowl and spoon in hand, and scoffed. "You just made a remark suggesting you didn't like carrots." Her eyebrow quirked.

"And? Come on, Cottontail. Feed the poor, hungry fox," he said, giving her his usual half-lidded expression, leaning on the countertop in a charming way.

She rolled her eyes and looked over to the cooling cakes. _'One slice wouldn't hurt.'_

Nick watched as she put the bowl containing the icing down and grabbed a knife, directing it towards one of the cakes before cutting a slice. When Judy turned around, Nick already had a plate in his paws ready for the slice of cake. She smiled at him as she placed it onto his plate. He smiled back.

As the hours passed by, Judy had finished baking and icing all of the carrot cakes and had them ready to be transported to her family farm—their containers were stacked up in a couple of bags. As for Nick, he was still there in Judy's studio apartment talking to her.

Judy glanced at Nick, who was licking his chops after finishing his third slice of carrot cake. It was obvious he liked it. She then looked up at the clock. It was 1:08 PM. Soon, it would be time for them to depart. Nick noticed her eyes flicker to the clock and he had a feeling that it was almost time to go. _'Alright, time to blow this pawpsicle stand and call it a day,'_ he thought.

He stood up from the chair he was sitting in with a stretch as he spoke. "Alright, Cottontail. I'm afraid it's about time I go."

Judy stood up and approached the door, opening it with ease as she smiled brightly at him. He then walked passed her, his tail slightly brushing across her as it lingered behind him. She leaned on her door frame with her arms crossed while cracking a wry smile at him, watching him as he strolled towards the exit of her apartment complex. "I'll see you tomorrow then, dumb fox."

"Yep, you got it, Cottontail."

She watched as he walked out of her apartment complex and onto the street, his tail swishing from side to side behind him as he walked. She sighed with content as she stood there in silence, thinking about that fox. The silence was soon broken when she heard shouting from next store.

"AWW, DID YOU HEAR THAT?"

"YEAH, HER BOYFRIEND'S LEAVING!"

"BYE DUMB FOX!"

Judy suddenly stiffened at the word _boyfriend_. She knew her cheeks were red at the thought but rolled her eyes as she shut her front door and locked it. Her neighbors, Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson, could sometimes be both loud and nosy at times which pretty much meant all the time.

Now though, she was occupied with getting ready to meet up with her family for the Mother's Day celebration. _'Today is the day!'_ She thought.

 **Author's Note:**

Whew! This was a long chapter! I'm so sorry I posted it so late. I had a lot of writer's block for this chapter. Oh and if you could catch it, there was a little foreshadowing in this chapter of the next chapter! (*cough* How the Antelope Cashier *cough* acted around Nick and Judy *cough* *cough*) Also, for the next couple of weeks I will not be able to post any Fanfictions because of the upcoming ACT test. I will be studying heavily until test day. Anyways, tell me if you liked it or not! And as always, thanks for your support!


	9. Different Part 1

**"** **Different" Pt.1 Zootopia Fanfiction #7**

 _It was obvious that they were different. Although they knew many civilians celebrated and cheered that they were working together, they were sometimes confronted with others that disfavored the idea of their partnership. Thus, prejudice ensued. The pair would occasionally hear whispers of disapproval and criticism almost everywhere they went together, while in uniform or not._

 _No, not all foxes are conniving criminals and not all rabbits are timid carrot farmers._

 _Yes, they were predator and prey. And yes, they were a fox and a rabbit working together as partners._

 _But that shouldn't deter their friendship… Should it?_

* * *

Early in the morning on no particularly special day, ZPD's bullpen was as lively as ever as officers of all sizes waited to receive their assignments. Nearly every officer was either on their cell phones, conversing, or arm wrestling among other things to occupy themselves before the meeting officially started. As usual, the larger creatures made way for a certain fox and rabbit, allowing them to easily reach their seats without disturbing the room's overall energy. Soon enough, the bustling of the room increased as some officers began rhythmically pounding the desks with their balled fists and commencing in a rowdy cheer as Chief Bogo entered the room, clipboard in hoof.

"Alright, alright! Enough, everybody sit!" Bogo bellowed gruffly over the noise as he settled himself behind a podium located in the front of the room. Simultaneously, everyone in the room quietened and directed their full attention to the chief.

Then, Chief Bogo promptly started to call out assignments from his clipboard. Nick and Judy waited eagerly as their fellow officers received their own tasks and began to empty out of the room. However, their eagerness slightly began to fade as more officers left, leaving them nearly the last ones in the room. This was an odd occurrence as the duo's assignment was usually among the first ones the chief announced.

"Hopps, Wilde."

Nick and Judy both straightened, albeit Nick did so to a lesser extent than Judy, as they awaited the cape buffalo's orders. Chief Bogo lifted his hardened gaze from the clipboard and focused it on the pair before continuing. "You two are goin' to check out the Meadowlands. There've been complaints an' accusations about various criminal activities in the area, and I have a sneakin' suspicion that whoever is involved in these crimes is also the cause of some of the highly illegal goods that've been smuggled into Zootopia as of late. We need more proof before we move in so take care of it." He then produced a beige-colored file.

Judy's eyes lit up as she jumped down from her chair and proudly hopped up to grab the case file from the larger animal's hooves. Passing by Chief Bogo, Nick followed close behind Judy as he watched her dash out the door. Nick promptly turned back to Bogo, giving him a mock salute as he sauntered backwards towards the exit. "We won't let you down, sir," Nick promised, sarcasm edging on his tone. The cape buffalo rolled his eyes as he watched him slink out the door.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Nick caught up with Judy as she walked towards their office. Although it wasn't too obvious, a few officers that were talking in the lobby turned their attention to the unusual pair, giving them curious sideways glances. Nick noticed this and upon returning their stares, they spun around and continued their conversations. Believe it or not, this action was not uncommon when the predator-prey pair was spotted together. Only Nick seemed to notice it though.

"Nick! Can you believe it?" Judy asked, perusing the case file quickly with excitement. "This is basically our first undercover assignment!" Before Nick could answer, Judy abruptly continued.

"We are going to have to change into our casual clothes considering that we are just checking out the area. I mean, the case file does mention a lot of crime in some areas like chief said so it would be best if we weren't dressed as law enforcement. After we change, we'll leave for the subway station," Judy stated before walking into their office. Nick nodded in agreement as he entered after her.

"Sounds like a plan," he concurred, gliding over to their office couch.

Judy then turned towards her desk. Luckily, she always had a spare change of casual clothes tucked away in one of the drawers. She promptly sat the case file on top of the desk and retrieved her casual clothes from the bottom right drawer. When she looked back up, Nick already had his out, unfolding them as she looked at him.

"Where've you been keeping those?" Asked Judy who was giving him a slight smile as she began to unfold her spare change of clothes. Nick's ears perked as he acknowledged her question and he paused, giving her a smile of his own.

"Oh, you know," he responded wryly before refocusing his attention towards his clothes. "Underneath the couch."

Judy immediately frowned, eyebrows furrowing. "The couch? Nick! I told you to put your stuff in those bins on the bookshelf otherwise our office will become messy like it used to be before I bought those bins! Is that where you've been putting all of the stuff that I've told you to throw away, underneath the couch?! Really?!"

"What? It's a good hiding spot," the fox reasoned, ignoring the bunny's frustrated tone. He smirked when she gave him an even more irritated glare.

"Ugh."

 _'_ _One of these days, Slick,'_ she thought while closing her eyes and shaking her head. The sight she saw when she opened her eyes made her heart almost stop.

Judy blushed furiously as she witnessed Nick, who was oblivious to her mortified stare, taking his police shirt off. She immediately covered her eyes. "Nick! What are you doing?!" She asked, shock extremely evident in her voice.

Nick turned to her, confused at first, but smirked when he remembered that she was very prude against any sign of nudity. "Oh, just changing," he clarified with indifference much to Judy's surprise.

"I know but you can't just change in here! It's unprofessional!" She explained quickly at a hushed volume, hoping to not attract any attention from anyone outside their office.

"Fine, alright. You can open your eyes now. I put my Hawaiian shirt on."

Judy slowly removed her paws from over her eyes to see Nick standing there with his paws placed on his hips and a slightly annoyed expression plastered on his face. Judy gave him a sheepish smile.

"Just go change in the bathroom from now on please, okay?"

Nick promptly clicked his heels together and mock saluted her. "Yes, ma'am!"

Judy rolled her eyes, trying to forget the awkwardness of the previous moment. She watched as Nick grabbed the rest of his clothes and strolled out of the office. Soon after, she did the same and walked to the female's bathroom. When inside, she sighed in relief.

That fox could give her some unexpected surprises that she could hardly stand sometimes. Unchanging in front of her happened to be one of them. He knew that she was uncomfortable with nudity. She just couldn't understand how that could've just slipped his mind when he went to go change in front of her. Judy huffed. She swore that he did some things just to annoy and get a reaction out of her. And she was probably right.

Judy approached one of the many huge stalls and went inside, promptly locking it when she pushed the stall door closed. She began taking off her gear and uniform, leaving only her bulletproof vest and her underwear on. Police protocol required undercover officers to at least leave their bulletproof vests on in case of an emergency. Hopefully, Nick remembered that. Soon after, she began to change into her spare clothes. The casual periwinkle-colored t-shirt and the pair of blue jeans fit her perfectly. She grabbed her badge and tucked it into her back pocket. With her police uniform folded neatly in her arms, she strolled out of the bathroom in her new attire. When she entered their office and placed her uniform on her desk, she noticed Nick sitting in his chair, changed into his gaudy casual clothes. He had already grabbed the case file and was reviewing it, learning as much information as he could.

Just as Judy was about to snatch the file out of the unsuspecting fox's paws, Nick handed it to her like he expected it to happen. He smiled smugly when she gave him a surprised look. The rabbit then plucked the file from the fox's paws and began skimming through its details. This was their first undercover case and she needed to learn all the information she could before advancing further. She then relayed the essential information to Nick who no doubt had already read the whole file.

"Okay, so the area that we are officially assigned to is Vapor Road which is on the edge of the Canal District near–"

"The Haymarket, I know, I know. What are the reports from locals?"

She was wrong; he didn't read it all. Judy recollected herself from his interruption and continued. "Well, there has been reports of loud noises in alleyways, vehicles coming to and fro to pick up unauthorized and maybe illegal materials, and threatening, suspicious individuals near the area that seem to stay in the same place, perhaps guarding something. They say that the individuals look to be in their late teens to late twenties with a few outliers being in their thirties to mid-forties. On the traffic cameras, there hasn't been enough suspicious activity to actually confirm any immediate criminal behavior. This is why we are going in to investigate."

"Well, then, let's get going. Those criminals aren't going to catch themselves," said Nick, walking out of the office with his paws snug in his pockets.

Judy followed him, grabbing her carrot pen that doubled as a recorder and left the case file behind on her desk. As she was catching up to Nick, Clawhauser caught her attention.

"You two be careful, alright?" He called out, waving the two goodbye.

Judy waved back, a smile dawning her features. "We will! See you in a bit, Clawhauser!"

Nick waved to Clawhauser as well but said nothing as the bunny caught up to the fox. Both said their goodbyes to their fellow officers before walking out the doors of the department and onto the streets of Savannah Central. The bright sunlight was welcoming to all who were out and about. Judy even saw Nick smile a bit as the warmth of the morning sun embraced him. They started to walk towards the subway station.

"So, Zootopia Loop, right?" Nick asked.

Judy grinned at him as a realization dawned on her. "Oh, but I thought you knew Zootopia like the back of your paw, hmm?"

He folded his arms and chuckled. "I do. It's just that I know so much about Zootopia that it often overwhelms my memory."

"Nice save. And yes, that subway will bring us to Precipitation Street… After that, we'll have to go onto the Rainforest District subway to reach Vapor Road. There, we can figure out the rest."

Soon, they reached a crosswalk with a don't walk signal. As they stood there waiting, a friendly herd of antelope trooped past them to get on the sidewalk the duo was on. Well, at least Judy thought they were friendly until she directed her gaze to Nick who was being shoved by most of the herd. Nick's brow furrowed as he endured the treatment. The scowls on their faces that were directed at the fox made her look at them with shock. After the herd had passed them, the signal was given that it was okay to walk across and they did, albeit slowly. Judy immediately gave a look of concern and Nick noticed it, giving her a smile, assuring her that all was okay.

"What was their problem?" Judy asked in a confused tone laced with indignancy.

Nick sighed. "Some animals just don't like foxes. You should know that, considering our beginnings..."

Judy looked down and remembered. "Yeah, I know... It just bugs me that I still see animals that base their judgment of others on stereotypes and not on who they truly are. I guess I just try to make myself believe that it doesn't happen sometimes," Judy explained, somewhat hesitantly. Now that she thought about it, there were many instances when she was with Nick that she noticed these things but almost always never recognized what was truly happening. In fact, she remembered that antelope cashier at the store giving some of the same looks to both of them, but they were mainly directed towards Nick. Now she understood why.

"It's okay, Cottontail. As long as there are animals like you, I'm fine with it." Nick smiled and gave her a wink. Judy just returned the smile.

Judy's smile suddenly sunk as she thought of a phrase Nick often used. Confusion settled in Nick as he saw her sudden expression change.

"What's wrong?" He asked, slight worry in his voice.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you know pretty much everyone in Zootopia, right?

"That is correct."

"So, does that mean that the possible suspects we'll be observing know you? Because that basically blows our cover."

Nick's carefree expression dropped as he thought for a moment before he looked back at her and smiled. "No, not really. If most of the animals we're spying on are in their late teens to late twenties, I doubt they'll know me. Plus, since I became a cop, I don't usually mix with criminals anymore."

"Usually? Nick, I hope you don't mix with criminals at all now!"

Nick laughed. "Don't worry about it, Carrots."

 **Author's Note:**

Yay, I'm back! I'm very sorry for such a long wait! I got unmotivated when school started and it snowballed from there. I will try to update more regularly now. Thank you so much for reading and for your support! Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!


	10. Different Part 2

**"** **Different" Pt. 2 Zootopia Fanfiction #7**

Nick and Judy reached the subway station in as little as ten minutes. They paid the fare and boarded the Zootopia Loop Subway Line without any problems. Now, the fox and rabbit were sitting side by side in one of the car's many seats.

Just like any subway in Zootopia, this one was equipped and suited for animals of all different sizes. Below Nick and Judy's seat, rodents gathered and sat in their own section while larger seats for sizeable animals were placed periodically around the car, giving others enough room to move and sit down.

Nick observed their surroundings. Fortunately, since most animals were off to work by now, it wasn't too crowded. He shifted his gaze to one of the car's windows where sunshine flooded through and filled the space with light. As a city-fox, the scene was a familiar sight for him. Nick even remembered the first time he rode the subway. Although he was very young, he could still remember his mom leading him through the mass of animals to get onto one of the subway's cars.

He was at least 6 years old. His mom had told him to stay close while he held her paw knowing that if he didn't, the young fox would surely be jostled and lost in the sea of animals surrounding them. He obeyed and directly followed her onto the subway car. Inside, many animals were packed into the small place, but the foxes eventually spotted a few empty seats right next to a window. The animals they passed gave them strange looks, he thought; their unsmiling and standoffish expressions only briefly caused him unease before he disregarded them and looked to his mom.

When they settled, he heard the whirring of the subway begin as it started to move. The looks of surprise and confusion he gave his mom due to the strange noise made her smile. After a few moments, he stood up on their seat to ease his boredom and looked out the window, barely able to see out because of his short stature. Almost immediately, he gaped as Zootopia zoomed past his eyes. After a seemingly long time of doing this, Nick became very sleepy and eventually rested his small head on his mother's arm as they waited for their stop to get off.

Soon enough, his mom gently nudged him awake, and they readied themselves to exit the car. All was calm until the subway stopped where they needed to get off, which happened to be the same stop as many other animals – mostly prey. Even though he didn't understand what was happening at the time, he could tell something was wrong. Animals glared and shoved recklessly past them until they finally exited out of the car. The young fox then heard a yell from behind as he continued to walk closely alongside his mother, slightly perturbed at what had just happened. Naturally, because he considered the phrase incoherent, he had later asked his mother what it meant.

He received no answer.

Instead, that night, his ears picked up soft crying coming from the room next to his. Or maybe that was from a different memory. Nick shrugged inwardly. Besides, he was 6 years old in 1990, and that was a long time ago.

A soft cough brought him out of his thoughts. Nick looked towards Judy to find that she was staring up at him intently. "What were you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking how funny you'd look in a carrot costume," he quipped, giving her a smirk. The pink inside of her ears suddenly turned a shade of red, and she gave him a quick punch to his arm in which he promptly responded to with "ow."

The fox and rabbit soon broke into their usual bantering and bickering but at a hushed volume, considering that they were in a subway car with others present. After a while, things became quiet again.

Judy turned away from Nick to cool down. She looked around the car, noticing how many eyes were on them so she turned back to Nick. The fox readied himself for another annoying remark but was surprised when the rabbit looked up at him with a calm expression.

"I know you were thinking about something else," she speculated softly, ears folded down. "The look in your eyes was different…"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "So? Why does it even matter if I was thinking about something else, Carrots?"

"I don't know. You just seemed… sad? Do you want to talk or something?"

"No."

Judy sighed at the answer and looked away awkwardly. "Then… I'm sorry."

The fox's ears twitched.

Nick's arms uncrossed and his glare suddenly softened. "For what?"

"Well, you never want to talk about these types of things, and I think I'm just pushing you to talk sometimes… and… I don't know."

Nick looked down, slightly guilty. Here was his only true friend apologizing for wanting to comfort him. He carefully thought about what to say before finally sharing it with her.

"…It's okay," he smiled gently at her. "I'm just… not used to the whole 'telling friends stuff.'"

Judy's eyes finally met with his and her warm smile returned. "That's okay. Neither am I."

"Pfft, you, Carrots? I find that hard to believe," he joked playfully.

"Har-har, I know, I know. But even I have trouble sharing my thoughts with others that are close to me. That includes dumb foxes as well."

"Whatever you say, Cottontail."

Nick then took out his phone and acted like he was checking something on it while he began dwelling in his mind again, wondering when and how he should share his past with her without sounding too… personal. Nick's mask has only been removed once or twice in Judy's presence, one of which was when they were solving the Nighthowler case. He just isn't ready to tell her… everything… yet.

The fox shifted his gaze over to the bunny sitting next to him that was currently reviewing over some notes written on a sheet of pa¾

 _Ding-ding._

Nick looked back to his phone, eyes suddenly widening at what had just popped up on its screen. Before he could fully look at the text message that he'd just received, Judy became curious.

"Who's that?" Judy asked as Nick fumbled with his phone before calmly placing it back into his pocket.

"Oh, it was just my mom," he lied nonchalantly. Judy quirked an eyebrow at the strange behavior but didn't seem to catch on to the lie and shrugged, returning her attention back to her notes. Meanwhile, Nick's mind was frantically juggling reasons on how _they_ even got his phone number in the first place.

At that moment, it started to rain and the droplets of water pelted the windows of their subway car.

Even if it was slight, Judy noticed how tense Nick was in their previous exchange. In fact, she did hear a rise in his heartbeat when he told her it was his mom who had texted him but brushed it off anyways. She knew he was lying to her and decided not to confront him about it lest doing so caused more bickering.

Just then, both Nick and Judy's thoughts were interrupted as the subway car came to a full stop and announced "Precipitation Street." They stood up from their seats and moved with the crowd before emptying out onto the street and into the rain. The pair briskly walked to the Rainforest District subway before paying the fare, boarding it, and finding their seats.

As they sat down, Nick began to shake his entire body, sending water all over Judy.

"Ugh, Niiiick." She whined and sent him a scowl as she tried to dry her ears off.

The fox chuckled and smirked wryly at her. "You're welcome."

He promptly received a punch to the arm.

* * *

After a few minutes, the duo eventually got off the Rainforest District subway and began making their five to ten minute walk to Vapor Road via sidewalk. The rain hadn't completely stopped but was now sprinkling down from a gray, gloomy sky looming overhead.

Judy spoke first. "So, once we get to Vapor Road, we should walk around and see where the most activity is happening. Remember, we can't be at the same place frequently so it's probably best if we split u–"

 _Riiing-riiiiiing "I won't give up, no, I won't give in 'til I reach the end and then I'll…"_

Blushing, Judy immediately took out her iCarrot phone, being careful to shield it from the sparse droplets of rain, and silenced her Gazelle-themed ringtone before placing it out in front of her and answering a facetime call. An older rabbit couple promptly appeared on the screen and greeted Judy.

"Hi, honey!" Bonnie exclaimed with glee.

"Jude-the-dude, how's it goin'?" Stu called out happily.

Nick, having heard the nickname, suppressed a chuckle.

"Hey," Judy gave an embarrassed look to Nick and then directed it back to her parents, "now's not really the time, I'm on a case at the mome-"

"All alone?!"

Judy was about to say no when she was cut off yet again.

"Oh, please be careful!" Her mother said in a pleading tone, clearly overly-worried.

"Yes, you don't want to run into any predators!"

"Dad!"

"Be wary especially around foxes too and-"

"DAD!" Judy looked frantically at Nick who seemed unaffected at what her father had just said, almost as if he wasn't even listening. Truth be told, the fox wondered if her parents even knew he was present or if they even knew about him at all. This thought began to lead to others as the rabbits continued to converse.

"Judy, your father's right, honey. Just be careful, okay?"

Judy sighed inwardly. "Okay, I need to go now though, love you."

"Okay, be safe! We love you!"

"We'll talk to ya later, Jude-the-dude!"

All three rabbits waved goodbye to each other through their phones before the facetime call was ended. Judy shoved her phone back into her pocket and looked to Nick.

"I'm so sorry, my parents are a little on the protective side and they-"

"It's okay, Jude-the-dude," Nick chuckled. "You'll have to tell me the story behind that nickname later."

"Maybe I will and maybe I won't." She gave him a smirk as she turned and started to walk, Nick following her.

"And about what you said earlier, I'm sure it'll be okay if we stick together. I mean, what's the worst that can happen to a butt-kicking bunny and a dangerously handsome fox?" Nick assured her perhaps a little too confidently.

"I don't know… I mean, I guess it'll be alright. I just didn't want anyone to be suspicious if they saw us around the same area a lot, y'know?"

"Yeah, but considering this is our first time going into an undercover case," he looked to her, "staying together means it'll be easier to reach one another if one of us runs into trouble."

Agreeing with him, Judy nodded. She then looked up to the dreary sky.

Judy shifted her gaze to Nick as the two continued to walk down the sidewalk. "Do you think it'll stop raining soon?"

Nick shrugged before giving her a sarcastic grin and announcing, "Of course it will! I should know; I am a weatherman after all!"

After that statement, Nick received yet another punch to the arm.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry for the late update! Thanks for reading and please feel free to review!


	11. Different Part 3

**"** **Different" Pt. 3 Zootopia Fanfiction #7**

"Oww, _Carrots_ ," Nick whined as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm that the rabbit had recently punched yet again. "Three punches in one day? That's a new record."

Judy rolled her eyes as she shook her head in playful exasperation at the fox. "Well, don't push your luck next time, and it might not have to be a new record."

" _Yeesh_ , I'll keep that in mind then, Cottontail... _Or_ maybe not," the fox smirked wryly at the rabbit, and she rolled her eyes again as she tried to suppress a smile. He was _such_ a pain sometimes.

The pair was still walking down the sidewalk in the light sprinkling of rain while the late-morning sun was shrouded in clouds. They were only one city block away from their destination: Vapor Road, an area in the Meadowlands which was a district popular with grazing mammals. Once there, they knew that things were going to get serious so they mentally prepared themselves; undercover work was usually not as easy as everyone thought—there was a lot of risks involved.

To recap, the case file that they had been assigned said that there had been reports from locals of loud noises in alleyways, vehicles coming to and fro to pick up unauthorized and maybe illegal materials, and threatening, suspicious individuals near the area that seemed to stay in the same place, perhaps guarding something. The ZPD needed to find out more before they could just waltz in and start making arrests since the traffic cams hadn't picked up really anything suspicious in the area. At this point, anything could happen. Hopefully, though, they found something.

As she thought about this, Judy shifted her attention and noticed that it had seemingly stopped sprinkling. She promptly held out her paw just to check that it was true before expressing her happiness shortly after.

"Yay!" The rabbit cheered. "It stopped raining!" Judy turned to her partner only to see him almost unfazed by the change of weather as he sauntered beside her on the sidewalk, head held high with a wry smirk expressed on his vulpine features.

"I told you that it would— _I am_ a weather man after all."

Judy scowled lightheartedly at the sarcastic, referenceable comment but didn't say anything as they continued to walk. She knew that the fox saw her scowl, however, because he suppressed a chuckle once she had emoted her slight irritation. _'Dumb fox.'_

Taking his earlier statement into consideration, though, she began to think about it as they continued to walk. Of course, she had heard of how some mammals could sense a change in the weather before it even took place, and a part of her wondered if Nick was serious when he had told her earlier that the rain would stop.

Judy knew that because Nick was in the canid family, he had a hyper sense of smell. She had once read in a book that was the reason why canids had such long snouts; in other words, what is considered the visible part of Nick's nose was just the tip of the iceberg—his entire snout was filled with millions upon millions of olfactory receptors that could detect smells that she couldn't even imagine. Soon enough, however, her thoughts on the subject disappeared as she and Nick came across a street sign labeled Vapor Road, and to say the least, they were both perturbed and disgusted by its condition.

Everywhere, wooden crates containing who knows what littered its alleyways, some broken, some not. On the sides of the old apartment buildings, grime and graffiti lived while trash and muck were scattered along the filthy sidewalks. Untamed grasses and other various plants had sprouted through the cracked concrete wildly. The area almost seemed desolate if it were not for some silhouetted individuals talking in an alleyway and a few outlines of pedestrians—some walking hurriedly down the sidewalk as if they were uncomfortable or scared by themselves, and others not so much. The dim lighting caused by the overcast sky and the foggy atmosphere didn't seem to really help either.

Judy looked to Nick, and once their eyes met, they nodded to each other and continued to walk down the mucky sidewalk in silence; it was time to get serious. Once at the end of the sidewalk, when no one was around, Nick began to speak.

"This place has gone downhill— _bad_."

Although Judy had never been to Vapor Road in person until now, she agreed with him through nodding; the area must've been in better condition sometime in its life.

"Okay, so we stick together," Judy began, her eyes meeting again with her partner's. "That alley—the one where those animals were talking in—is where I think we should go first." Normally, some animals talking in an alleyway would not be enough to cause immediate suspicion in Savanna Central or surrounding areas, but this road was definitely a different story.

Nick nodded. "You read my mind, Carrots."

With that, they turned around and headed in the direction of the alleyway that they had seen and heard some shady animals talking in. Before they passed the opening of the alleyway, though, the pair stopped and casually hid from the view that the animals in the narrow passage had of the sidewalk; Nick leaned on a postbox near the opening of the alleyway while Judy took to sitting at an outdoor table of a run-down coffee shop only about 15 feet away from the fox. Almost immediately, the smell of tobacco smoke, alcohol, and other questionable things filled their senses. They could not see the animals inside of the alley, but they could definitely hear them; they were overly boisterous and seemed to be all male as the undercover duo eavesdropped.

"Oh, yeah! Those fools were all over that!"

"AHAHAHAA, AND THEY _BELIEVED_ YOU?!"

At this point, Judy, with her tall ears upright in attention, pulled out her phone and began to record the alleyway, hoping to catch the suspicious animals say something that hinted to criminal activity.

"Yeah, it was _CRAZYYYY_! HAHAA!"

For about 30 _long_ minutes, the conversation carried on in the same manner. Unfortunately, it did not reveal or hint at any information about illegal drugs, activities, and so on, much to the displeasure of the undercover duo. Deciding that he couldn't take anymore waiting, Nick eventually ditched his spot beside the postbox before walking over to Judy to talk of a new plan.

"Carrots," he whispered hastily, his ears down. "What should we do? They're not talking about anything new, just the same old stuff, and it's driving me nuts!"

Judy couldn't help but notice the faint crazed twitch of her partner's left eye. She promptly sighed as she put Nick's idea into consideration before stopping her phone's recording of the alleyway and putting her phone back into her pocket; it was true, they couldn't just sit there and wait for something to happen when there could be other things happening in the area.

"I guess we can walk around and see if there's anything else going on around here. If not, we'll come back to see if anything's changed with this situation."

Without further delay, Nick began casually walking down the dim sidewalk, his tail swishing behind him, before answering quietly over his shoulder as not to alarm the alleyway inhabitants that they had been previously spying on, "I'm definitely up for that."

Smiling, Judy hopped down from her seat and joined him.

* * *

"I can see how this road got its name," Judy commented as a cloud of fog enveloped them whilst they continued their stroll down the sidewalk of Vapor Road.

"Oh, yes, very _vapory_." Nick joked, and Judy rolled her eyes as he continued. "It's a wonder that this place hasn't been deemed a ghost town yet—there's no one here!"

"I know. For some reason, I expected this place to be loaded with animals," Judy admitted in a hushed tone. "I have yet to really see a single animal, though, other than the silhouettes that we saw walking down the sidewalk and the ones that were in the alley."

"Yeah, surprisingly, this ol' place used to be bustling but now…not so much," Nick added with a halfhearted look of acknowledgment.

Suddenly, the fox and the rabbit went silent as a group of shady grazing mammals walked past them going in the opposite direction; the group's eyes followed Nick and Judy like a hawk's, complete with a threatening glint. Although she tried to avoid looking at them, Judy had noticed that they were all prey animals. One was a smug-looking zebra sporting a shirt two sizes too big and baggy pants while the other two were a warthog and a wildebeest wearing similar thug-like attire; they didn't look like the types of animals that one would want to mess with at all, to say the least. Abruptly, Nick interrupted her observation with an elbow to the side.

" _Ow!_ What was that fo—"

"Do you _want_ us to get jumped, Carrots?" Nick whispered harshly.

The rabbit thought about the question carefully before responding with an equally harsh whisper. "No, but that doesn't mean you have to elbow me!"

" _Yes_ ," he paused, "it does…Listen, I don't want us to get hurt. In these parts, being seen with someone not of the same class—" He briskly gestured to himself and then to her, "is not kindly looked upon and can bring someone a lot of trouble…and we definitely don't need any of that." His emerald eyes shifted their gaze to her amethyst ones as he waited for some sort of response.

Judy just nodded.

Oh, yes, the rabbit definitely knew how one small difference can upset an entire society. She understood that some areas of Zootopia just weren't exactly… _friendly_ towards seeing a predator and prey around each other let alone walk down the street together. Disturbingly, there were even hate groups that still sought segregation even though the law was against it.

Nick let out a small sigh before elaborating further. "I'm sorry for kind of snapping at you, it's just…bad things can happen if we're not careful." Looking at her, his expression brightened once he saw hers do the same.

"I understand. Now, do you wanna follow those guys or not, you dumb fox?" She quipped as she turned on her heel and began walking in the same direction as the sketchy group that had walked passed them about a minute ago. He smiled as he caught up with her.

Through the thick fog, they could see that the silhouette of the group was at least 30 feet in front of them, and the duo dared not to get any closer lest they wanted to give rise to the suspicion that they were following them.

Nick whispered, "It seems like they are going back to that same alleyway that those other animals were in." The fox had noticed that they were on the same path back to where he and Judy had first started walking from outside the alleyway.

Judy caught onto what he was saying and nodded in agreement.

"Maybe it's a meetup of some sort," she whispered her speculation to him. _'This undercover case could be over sooner than we expected,'_ she thought.

The suspicious group turned the corner, proving to the fox and the rabbit that there was, in fact, a very high chance that they were going to the same alleyway. After about 45 seconds, Nick and Judy cautiously turned the same corner, and to their surprise, the animals they were following were nowhere in sight; they had somehow vanished.

Nick and Judy shared a confused glance as they slowed their walk, wondering where the suspicious animals had disappeared to.

Suddenly, though, a dark familiar voice startled them from behind.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what we have here…"

The fox and the rabbit immediately flipped around to face who owned the voice—which they had realized belonged to one of the animals from the alleyway—only to find the same group of animals that they'd been following moments before now looming over their small forms maliciously. Nick and Judy shared semi-nervous glances as they stood their ground; these goons had known that they were being followed. With their sensitive ears, especially Judy's, it was a wonder that neither of them had heard the grazers sneak up from behind. The startled duo watched as the zebra towering over them continued his sentence.

"A bunny rabbit and a _conniving_ fox."

"Sounds like the start of a bad joke," the wildebeest to the left of the zebra chimed in.

The warthog to the right of the striped equine then spoke, his threatening tone apparent. "What're you two doing skulking around _our_ turf?"

Yep. The undercover duo recognized all of their voices as the ones they had listened to earlier from the alleyway. And the best part was because they were both undercover and wearing plain clothes, this gang really had no idea who they were talking to.

From what he could tell, Nick knew that anger had replaced the uncertainty Judy had initially felt for this situation, but he never expected her to speak out freely against these intimidating suspects with such contained animosity.

"First of all, _sir_ ," she paused, her ears slightly twitching with agitation. "This isn't _your_ 'turf'; this area belongs to the city of Zootopia. _And second of all_ , we could ask _you_ the same question. _So_ , why are you skulking around this area?"

At that, the zebra, warthog, and wildebeest all stood stock-still, a dumbfounded expression on their faces as they stared down at Judy with incredulity. For a second, Nick was sure they hadn't understood a single word that his partner had said as they stood there wide-eyed. Then, without warning, all three of the grazing mammals had busted out laughing defiantly with disbelief. Although it was brief, Nick had seen the discouraged look on Judy's face at being laughed at before it was quickly replaced with a look of determination with slight indignation. Nick took on the same look.

Once the animals before them had stopped their unnecessary fit of laughter, the zebra spoke, still somewhat giggly as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.

"You can't be serious, hahaaha! Bunny rabbit, you just asked us what _we_ are doing _here_!"

Earnestly wondering what they had meant, Nick took a step forward as he pressed on sternly, "And what _exactly_ do you do around here then?"

The warthog snorted and gestured to the surrounding area, "We run this place! _We_ are the crime bosses, _AHHAAHAAA_ —And if you don't beat it soon, we'll show you how we get rid of pests!"

 _'_ _Wow, a confession, really?'_ Judy thought, slightly surprised at how easy that was as she tucked something orange back into her pocket _._ Nick had also caught onto what the warthog had said and immediately thought, _'How stupid do you have to be to confess openly to strangers that you are a crime boss?'_

At this point, while the goons resumed their laughing fit, the fox and the rabbit exchanged a knowing look. Because their case file had reports of threatening, suspicious individuals roaming around Vapor Road (not to mention ones that could be involved in trafficking unauthorized and maybe illegal materials like the file had stated), and the grazing gang before them had just confessed to supposedly being crime bosses of the area in question, the undercover duo had probable cause to go ahead and make arrests. So, without waiting another moment, Judy looked to the cackling suspects and adopted an innocently compliant expression, but Nick wasn't so easily fooled; _'Sly bunny,'_ was his only thought as he knew exactly what was going to happen.

The rabbit's expression was just a façade meant to make her look innocent. Just when she drew the unsuspecting victim in, the sly and insidious undertone would be revealed shortly. Without further delay, Judy replied in a tone that matched her expression, "Oh, yes, of course, but before we go, I just have one more thing to say."

The grazing gang's small laughing fit came to a sudden but slow stop as all of them turned their attention back down to Judy, their uncaring faces filled with bitter contempt towards her almost as if they were now annoyed by her presence as the zebra spoke sharply, " _What?_ "

With a satisfied smile, Judy pulled out her police badge and held it up proudly, finally revealing it to the gang as it shimmered in the dim light of the road. Nick suppressed a chuckle at the look on their gawking faces as he pulled out his badge too. As their shock sank in, Judy delivered their intended arresting statement complete with Mooranda rights.

"You are all under arrest on probable cause of conspiracy, organized crime, disorderly conduct, and for reasonable suspicion of drug trafficking. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you if you desire. Do you understand?"

In an instant, the initial expressions of wide-eyed shock plastered on the accused mammals' faces were replaced with contempt as they glowered down at the fox and the rabbit, their arms crossed as they towered over the two officers menacingly.

The warthog was the first to speak. "You can't touch us," he assured confidently, " _It's our word against yours_."

Both officers internally rolled their eyes at the familiar statement.

" _Actually_ ," Judy drawled as she reached into her pocket for something. Nick smirked knowingly; he knew where this was going. On the other paw, the thugs snorted when they saw her pull out a carrot-shaped pen. Then, Judy pressed the pen's side button with a half-lidded smile as both she and Nick eagerly waited for the magic to happen.

 **Click.** "~~~~~~~~~~We run this place! _We_ are the crime bosses, _AHHAAHAAA_ —" **Click.**

Instantaneously, the grazing gang's confident demeanor dissolved as they listened to the confession that the warthog had unsuspectedly given minutes earlier.

As expected, the gang soon recovered, regaining their smug stances as if saying that they didn't really care about the evidence that Judy had anyway.

In other words, these goons weren't going down without a fight.

"So what? You got some evidence," the zebra snorted, his large striped arms crossed in a defiant manner. "But what makes you think you can take _us_ on, _little bunny_? What, is your little fox friend gonna help ya?"

 _'_ _Oooh, he is sooo dumb,'_ Nick thought fervently. A normal rabbit would've just brushed off the nickname _little bunny_ , but Nick knew from experience that Judy Hopps was no normal rabbit, and if the twitch of her right eye had anything to say about it, she was definitely not taking the nickname lightly. Thank the heavens that the zebra happened to be lucky enough not to use the "C" word on her.

"Why, yes," she replied casually in a slightly strained voice as she tucked her badge and carrot pen back into her pants' pocket, hardly caring for the anger that was currently boiling in the zebra's eyes. "Yes he is."

Almost without warning, the striped equine charged towards the gray rabbit, and in one swift motion, they all watched as Judy jumped towards the zebra's hooves and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking him hard onto his back with a loud thud and stunning him. Nick smirked at the other grazers' expressions of shock; they couldn't believe that a _little bunny_ just did _that_ to an animal almost four times her size. Their shocked expressions didn't last long, though, because when Judy stood up with smug triumph, they promptly snapped out of it and made a lunge for her.

She easily dodged their grasp and delivered some force of her own, punching the wildebeest in the gut before she kicked the snot out of the warthog's head, promptly sending him to sleep like a newborn baby all the while Nick enjoyed the show as a bystander; Judy was the Academy sparring champion after all so why not? By now, however, the zebra had gotten back up, and in seeing the fox standing to the side, he began to charge towards the oblivious vulpine. Luckily, just a second before being trampled, Nick took notice of the stampeding zebra and promptly stepped aside, causing the striped equine, who was unable to slow or stop, to faceplant into the wall behind the smirking fox, thus knocking himself out.

At this point, there was only one thug left. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, the wildebeest stood staring and stock-still, unsure of what to do as if he was still shocked at what he had just witnessed Judy do. So, Nick decided to intervene, pulling out large handcuffs as he spoke out to the grazer, a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Okay, _bud_. We can either do this the easy way," he held up the handcuffs. "Or the hard way," he promptly gestured to Judy who, after thrashing his buddies around, didn't look fazed at all while she still held a fighting stance that was ready for action. The fox smirked, " _Your choice_."

At that, Nick must've really irked the wildebeest because the grazer's look of uncertainty was immediately replaced with a demeanor of fury as he charged full speed towards the fox. And right before Nick was two feet from being squashed by the thug, Judy slammed into the wildebeest's neck midair with her feet, knocking him off course and causing him to fall flat onto his stomach all the while Nick didn't even flinch; he just held the same half-lidded expression as he stared down at the wildebeest that was now on the ground.

A second later, when the wildebeest attempted to get back up, Judy landed on his head, thus completely knocking him out.

Judy wiped her hands and smirked with satisfaction as she hopped off of the thug's head while Nick promptly walked over and leaned next to the downed mammal's ear. "Told ya so, bud. Should've taken the easy way out."

He saw Judy roll her eyes at his comment as she took the cuffs from him to cuff the wildebeest. "Nice line. It is a very, _how should I say_ , overused one."

Nick seemed to deflect the sarcastic tone in her voice as he returned it with full strength, "Why, thank you, _Jude-the-dude_."

In that instant, he received yet another punch to the arm from the bunny. It was the fourth one that day.

"…Yep. I'm definitely going to start keeping a record."

Judy laughed a little at her partner's comment as she walked over to the other two gang members lying on the ground. She gently prodded them with her foot to which they didn't respond to at all; they were definitely out cold for a while.

 _'_ _Serves them right for resisting arrest. Not to mention, insulting and threatening us,'_ she thought.

Leaning down a little, Judy began to check their pockets. As expected, among common things like keys or a cell phone, she pulled out a bottle of prescribed opioids and marijuana from the warthog's pockets while the zebra possessed a few small bags of cocaine along with marijuana as well, and unsurprisingly, a small gun luckily with no bullets. When she turned around, she saw Nick had pulled out some stuff from the cuffed wildebeest's pockets too. Sighing, she faced back to the two unrestrained yet unconscious arrestees for a moment.

She would cuff them as well but considering this was supposed to be an undercover case, she hadn't brought most of her equipment. In fact, it was a surprise that Nick had brought a set of cuffs, but it wasn't an unwelcome one.

It was also crazy luck that they had managed to run into the ringleaders of Vapor Road's street crime, and both she and Nick would be sure to interrogate any other animals that were involved out of the grazer gang once they were at the station. Speaking of which, they needed to call some officers so that the goons could be taken downtown to the ZPD.

"Nick," she turned to her partner, "you ready to call the station out here?"

"Readier than I'll ever be," quipped the fox as he pulled out his phone. He suddenly stopped short, however, to stare at the screen with wide-eyes like he did earlier when he supposedly received a message from his mom.

"What's wrong?" She walked over to him after seeing his look of distress.

Right before reaching him, though, Judy watched as he quickly unlocked his phone, almost fumbling with it in the process before composing himself with his usual half-lidded expression and hastily answering, "Just mom again."

She nodded slowly and watched with rapt attention while the fox put the phone up to his ear and waited for the line to pick up, his composed state still revealing a bit of anxiety if his lowered ears and his attempt to slow his quick breathing had anything to say about it. It was subtle, but his mannerisms were completely clear to her now; she knew he was lying to her again.

Although Judy had a tinge of hurt and worry go up her spine at these lies that were becoming frequent whenever he pulled out his phone, she urged herself not to pry. She knew that doing so could make things worse, and the rabbit didn't want to start a scene when backup was to arrive soon; an irritated fox was the last thing she wanted right now.

In short, whatever Nick was lying about, he wanted to keep secret, and secrets, she knew, were very difficult to get out of Nick.

When a 9 year old Judy first heard from her family that foxes, among being _other_ things, were very secretive creatures, she didn't believe them _._ At that time, Gideon Grey was the only fox that she knew even if it was rather distantly. The former bully would goad and jeer others her age, and she never imagined him a keeper of secrets because of his outwardly rude attitude that seemed too uninhibited to hold any at all. However, her family's attitude towards foxes aside, now that she actually knew one personally, she could see where the notion had come from.

Judy just hoped that whatever Nick was lying about wasn't as bad as it seemed, and he would soon stop the behavior.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, and she directed her gaze back upon her partner, whose worrisome behavior from earlier had completely disappeared as he conversed casually on the phone.

"Yes, Clawhauser, this is Nick…Yeah, you would not believe it, _but_ we've got the main three baddies down here on Vapor Road after they resisted arrest. So, if you could send some backup down, that'd be great…Yeah, yeah, I'll tell her…Bye, see ya at the station."

With that, the fox hung up and turned back towards the rabbit nonchalantly. "Backup's on the way, and Clawhauser said hi."

She smiled, "I'll be sure to say hi to him when I see him at the station then…This operation might be over sooner than we all thought."

Nick nodded, a toothy grin in his voice as he spoke, "You got that right. And when I get home, I'll tell my friend 'Mattress' that it was over sooner than expected and that _some bunny_ punched me _four times_ today."

Judy felt the sudden urge to give him another punch to the arm for his silly remark but refrained. Nick seemed to notice this because he gave a small laugh while his tail, which secretly caught Judy's interest, was swishing behind him in contentment until it slowed to a full stop. She watched as he briefly looked at the unconscious criminals around them before meeting with her eyes, a familiar mischievous glint in his gaze as he spoke.

"Tell me if you've heard this one before, but I think that we make a pretty good team."

She smiled up at the dumb fox. Of course, many in Zootopia praised them for their work so it was no surprise that she'd heard the phrase before. "I've heard it before."

" _Wow_ , what a surprise. I've heard it too."

* * *

Soon enough, backup arrived and the criminals were hauled off to the station to be interrogated. Luckily, Nick and Judy had gotten four other names out of the convicted mammals after revealing that they were, as expected, a part of illegal material trafficking, proving that Bogo's suspicion had been true. Now, the fox and the rabbit were making their way out of the ZPD, their hearts set on heading home as they walked alongside each other.

"Who knew that it would've been over so quickly," Nick commented, grinning.

Judy knew that he was referring to how quick the grazing gang's interrogation had been. When she had told them that their sentence had increased for resisting arrest among other things and could increase more if they didn't cooperate, the arrested mammals complied quickly and told them a few names of some other animals that were involved. Tomorrow, they would search the area for the others, and if all went right, they would close the case.

"Well, y'know what they say," she mused. "We make a pretty good team."

At that, they both smiled at each other before saying goodbye and going their separate ways.

That night, when Nick got home, he made sure that no one was following him, that both locks on his front door were in use, and that every window in his apartment was either covered by blinds or curtains. When that was done, the wary fox released a sigh and loosened his tie considerably before pulling out his phone to check his text messages, his eyes widening when he saw one in particular.

This was bad. This was _very, very bad_.

The message that he'd seen displayed on the screen throughout the day, to his displeasure and anxiety, was from a forgotten associate-turned-enemy. If he had told Judy the truth, he knew that she would've dug deeper, and that was the last thing that he needed or wanted; she didn't need to be involved in his personal affairs. Besides, it would only get her hurt as well.

If he was going to settle this, he needed to do it alone, and if that meant not telling Judy, he would do it.

Sighing, he placed the phone on his bedside table, the message echoing in his wary mind as he walked away with weariness.

 _"'_ _Nick. In three days meet us at the old place and don't even think about telling anyone or else your little rabbit friend might get hurt.'"_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

*Dodges tomatoes and various rotten fruits and vegetables* Hey! Sorry about the late update! As you can probably already tell, I update very irregularly so it's safe to assume that this story will go on another small hiatus until I update it again, so I'm sorry in advance (it takes a long time for me to edit)! _But,_ next chapter will be fresh and will alleviate this little cliffhanger, so don't worry! Thanks for reading and for your support! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc. It would be greatly appreciated!


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